This is an extraordinary affair that the National Cyber Unit (UNC) of the gendarmerie has brought to light.
Ten people suspected of having supplied an online child pornography network were arrested throughout France and presented to a judge, the Paris prosecutor's office announced on Friday February 8 in a press release.
The defendants will be tried for
“dissemination and possession in an organized group of pornographic images of minors”
, two of them will also appear for having administered the Telegram communication group.
At least 15,000 illicit images - photos and
"sextapes"
(videos of a sexual nature) - were discovered on this channel by investigators.
It was information, obtained in March 2023 as part of other investigations, which launched the UNC on the trail of this network, mobilizing 160 gendarmes for almost a year, including 80 cyber investigators.
The network previewed nude images of minors on a Telegram group and then monetized more illicit content in private conversations with buyers.
“The profit derived from the traffic is estimated at more than 50,000 euros, part of which could have been seized in cryptocurrency,”
underlines the Paris prosecutor’s office.
A structured organization
“The suspects, who are very young, had set up an innovative, very structured and successful organization, whereas most criminal associations are often sporadic and one-off. If we had not intervened, the phenomenon could have taken on a much greater scale
,” describes
Captain Julien Caumond, head of the personal attacks department at the UNC, in Le
Figaro .
If the main suspects in the network are now awaiting trial, investigators are still trying to identify the victims who appear in the child pornography images using, in particular, the database of the national center for the analysis of child pornography images.
For Captain Caumond, this operation is an opportunity to remind people that
“the dissemination of child pornography images can tip over those who have doubts about their attraction to children or adolescents.
Obtaining these photos and videos can trigger a trigger in them not to be satisfied with a virtual experience
,” he warns.
The gendarme also emphasizes the risks, particularly for minors, of putting themselves out there on the Internet.
“If a naked selfie is sent, even to a trusted person, we are exposed to the risk of “revenge porn” but also to the lure of profit which can push some people to resell this content.”
Also read: Cyberharassment: what is “revenge porn”?