French authorities have apprehended one of the top-10 most-wanted child sex abuse masterminds on the dark web.
The announcement was made by French law enforcement who intimated that the arrestee had been identified as the ring leader of a child sex abuse syndicate that had operated under the shadow of darknet anonymity.
The 40-year-old suspect was arrested on July 7 at a location close to the Southwestern French city of Bordeaux. The police said that the man lived in the town of Cenac with his family.
According to details provided by law enforcement authorities, the suspect was arrest was made possible by a multiagency operation involving the specialized anti-violence agency of the French police.
In addition, Europol was involved in the law enforcement operation that sought to put a stop to grand-scale criminal operations and networks associated with global child sex abuse. The fact that the suspect was designated “among the 10 priority global targets” by authorities highlights the importance of the latest arrest – it is expected that the latest law enforcement operation will send massive ripples across the darknet criminal world.
Suspect Operated Darknet Child Sex Abuse Sites
The suspect has been accused for running online platforms that promote the illicit child sex abuse industry – reportedly serving as the admin to scores of child sex abuse websites. It is alleged that the mastermind produced images and videos that would be availed to target consumers in the dark web. Quite obviously, the suspect’s choice of the darknet was motivated by the need to hide the real identities of both operators and visitors to his websites.
Further, law enforcement added that the 40-year-old was allegedly accused of producing images and videos of himself for purposes of distribution to dark web audiences. Official records intimate that the suspect managed to establish a robust child sex abuse network that served thousands of online users across the world.
Following his arrest, the French national was charged with the incestuous rape of a minor and incestuous assault of an underage girl. Reportedly, he has pleaded guilty to all the charges levelled against him.
In Related News
Elsewhere, Italian law enforcement identified a group of teenagers sharing child sex abuse material and dark web videos.
The police made the announcement on July 11 after authorities caught wind of the group of 20 kids who used their mobile phones to share gore videos of suicides and mutilations, as child sex abuse material that originated from the dark web.
The authorities reported that they acted on a lead provided by one of teenagers’ parents. Reportedly, the mother of a teenage boy from Lucca City alerted the police after discovering the disturbing material on her son’s cellphone.
After investigation, law enforcement agents uncovered a large collection of child sex abuse videos being shared across WhatsApp, Telegram and other popular instant messaging apps.
In addition to the child sex abuse material, authorities intimated that the youngsters also exchanged graphic videos that were sourced from darknet platforms.
Throughout the police investigation, agents found that 20 minors aged between 13 and 17 years were involved in the distribution of the illicit darknet material. At this point, the police have continued their probe into any possible links to a wider network of criminal actors.
The teenagers have not been placed under police custody even as they face pending charges of possessing and sharing child sex abuse material, including aggravated instigation to commit crimes.
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