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Perpetrators and journalists (archive picture): head of a blackmail ring
Photo: Kim Hong-Ji / AP
A court in the South Korean capital Seoul has sentenced the head of a blackmail ring to 40 years in prison.
It found the 25-year-old operator of the Baksabang chat room guilty of distributing sexually exploitative content.
He generated the recordings by baiting and threatening his victims.
The public prosecutor had demanded life imprisonment.
According to South Korean media reports, five other perpetrators associated with the case were sentenced to sentences of seven to 15 years.
This includes a 16-year-old teenager.
The main culprit would have to be banned from society for a long time because of "the seriousness of his crimes, the large number of victims and the harm inflicted on them" as well as the "malicious influence", the court was quoted by the national news agency Yonhap as saying.
He also showed no remorse.
The main defendant therefore violated laws protecting minors, among other things.
Blackmail with pornographic images and videos that glorify violence
The case sparked a public outcry in South Korea.
Police released the prime suspect's name in March after millions of people signed petitions to this effect.
According to the police, at least 74 women and girls - including 16 minors - were victims of sexual exploitation and violence over several months.
The perpetrators therefore lured them with fake job advertisements and demanded nude photos and other images.
Afterwards they are said to have threatened to publish these pictures if they did not agree to further recordings with degrading representations.
The pornographic and violence-glorifying images and videos were sold to thousands of customers via the Telegram messenger service until February of this year.
Investigators estimated that the chat in question had around 10,000 members.
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bbr / dpa
