Men aged 16 to 74
The profile of those arrested varies: all are men, aged 18 to 74, to whom must be added a minor aged 16. Among them, thirty-six were already known for sexual offenses against minors or consultation of sites featuring minors. Seven were already registered in the file of perpetrators of sexual or violent offenses (Fijais).
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The majority of those involved, who live mainly in the Île-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes or Grand-Est regions, have already admitted the facts. According to the gendarmerie, confirming information from BFM TV, one of them worked as director of a youth information association, another was a sports instructor. A mayor’s deputy is also involved.
375,000 photos and 156,000 videos
The searches, carried out from December 9 to 19, revealed 375,000 photos and 156,000 videos while 122 computers, 330 digital media and 152 smartphones were seized, containing 217 TB of data.
“Galaxy of pedophiles which potentially can also be predatory. »
The investigation began in November 2023 during the search of the telephone of an individual living in Hauts-de-Seine accused of habitually viewing child pornography images. Cyber investigators from the Versailles research section (SR), with the assistance of the National Cyber Unit (UNC), thus discovered the existence of several discussion groups on the Signal encrypted messaging service, whose name is unknown. equivocal on their subject.
Increase in ‘supply’
“What is hidden behind these forums is this whole galaxy of child criminals who potentially can be extremely dangerous because they can also be predatory,” explained Colonel Hervé Petry of the UNC. “Today, with social networks, there is an increase in ‘supply’ since images and videos can be exchanged extremely easily […] Now you can log in at any time.”
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