Child crime: an international network dismantled in France, more than 10,000 suspects identified

The French people in this case are between 37 and 73 years old. More than 10,000 suspects have been identified in the investigation into a vast pedophilia network extending to around fifty countries. At the heart of the investigation? The precise work of OFFMIN, the Minors' Office, whose investigations began six months ago after an initial search. The arrest of several people accused of aggravated human trafficking of minors made it possible to infiltrate discussion groups on the encrypted messaging service Telegram. More than 23,000 photos and videos of a child pornography nature were found after analyzing 73,000 messages. The youngest victim is a one and a half month old infant, the oldest is 8 years old.

Minority protection associations welcome Telegram's collaboration with the police, after having refused to do so for a long time. Its founder Pavel Durov was arrested and indicted at the end of August, due to the publication of illegal content on the application. “For years, we had tried to reach out, to explain that we wanted to collaborate better to protect minors, that had never been possible. When we have police pressure, when there are arrests, when there is real pressure put on these messaging systems, things start to evolve. Today, we feel that we can dialogue almost as equals.notes Samuel Comblez, deputy general director of the E-enfance association.

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Around thirty people have already been arrested, including four in France, in Finistère, in Bordeaux, in the Lille region and near Bourg-en-Bresse. Some are after-school and parish leaders, some are fathers. They were indicted, in particular for rape and sexual assault on minors aged 15, as well as for possession and distribution of child pornography images. Investigators from the Juvenile Office promise dozens of arrests in France in the coming weeks.