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Man at the computer: The alleged perpetrator is 24 years old
Photo: Oscar Wong / Getty Images
A 24-year-old man has been arrested in the Netherlands for allegedly abusing more than 100 underage girls online.
The public prosecutor's office in Breda announced on Thursday evening that he first got the victims to send naked photos of themselves and then blackmailed them with it.
According to the judicial authority, this is the largest case of online abuse in the country to date.
According to the information, the investigators found 150 folders with different maiden names on the suspect's computer.
"He made the lives of his victims hell," said a spokesman.
Not all girls have been identified yet.
According to previous knowledge, the youngest victim was 13 years old.
The suspect always proceeded in the same way, prosecutors said: He contacted the girls via social media such as Snapchat and Instagram under names such as Bryan.snapx or Bryansnelgeld.
First he offered them money for sending nude photos.
Then he threatened to publish the pictures if they didn't send more recordings.
In some cases he is said to have actually redistributed the images.
Stitches like this are called »sexortion«.
This is a mix of the words "sex" and "extortion", i.e. blackmail.
The case has only just become public
The suspect demanded "sometimes very far-reaching sexual acts in front of the camera" from the victims, emphasizes the public prosecutor's office.
For example, the investigation led to the suspicion that a victim was forced to have sex with a third person, filmed it and then sent the material to the accused.
The alleged perpetrator, who lived in Etten-Leur in the south of the Netherlands, was reportedly arrested in October.
The case has only just been made public.
A wealth of images of abuse were found on the man's computer, it said.
He is accused, among other things, of producing and possessing depictions of child abuse.
The man was caught when a girl reported the case, prosecutors said.
So far, eight girls have filed criminal charges.
Investigators expect that number to increase.
mbo/dpa
