Isaac Steidl, the founder of the online dating site Coco.frwas indicted in Paris this Thursday, January 9.
Its web creation, a very easy to use platform, without registration, which ensured complete anonymity to its users, is accused of having served in the commission of numerous sexual crimesand was notably cited in thethe “Mazan rapes” affair.
Long sought after, the man, a naturalized Italian from Var, who would have renounced his French nationality, according to our informationattended a summons from the gendarmes of the National Cyber Unit (UNCyber) and was placed under judicial supervision, with a ban on leaving the territory.
Coco.fr, now Coco.gg. Behind these six banal letters, a website recently hosted on the Channel Island of Guernsey, but whose manager was in fact based in Tourves, in the Var.
Old-fashioned design, anonymous and quick registration, pass premium for a few euros: this “naughty” forum aggregator claimed 500,000 visits per month.
Closed since June 25, 2024the platform had been in the sights of the authorities for several years. It turns out that Coco had quickly become the hub of illegal practices, although its owners have always defended themselves, asserting that their site, said “dating”could not be held responsible user actions “in real life”.
However, the domain name, address, and even the title of the parent company has changed several times over the yearsjumping from Bulgaria to Hong Kong, via the Var on at least three occasions.
One of the companies, Zeroben, was in activity (for less than a year) at 48 Grand-Rue, in Taverns. We find traces of SARL Zenco at 11 rue Jean-Aicard in Toulon, and also at 38 rue de l’Arbre d’Or, in Brignoles.
Hundreds of victims, 480 complaints…
Among the most notable cases in which Coco was involved were the “Mazan rapes”. Dominique Pelicot had in fact used the forum to organize sordid actsby offering his sedated wife to rapists, since convicted.
-In another case, Philippe Coopman, a young homosexual man, fell into a deadly ambush after a fake meeting organized via the platform.
These examples are only a fraction of the 23,000 procedures recorded by the authorities, which involve Coco.fr in acts of pimping, drug trafficking and other serious crimes.
“In total, more than 23,000 acts have been denounced as having been committed through Coco”declared Laure Beccuau, Paris prosecutor to AFP. The victims identified number in the hundreds, with 480 complaints centralized by 71 public prosecutors in France since December 2023.
Isaac Steidl, described as a discreet and elusive characterhas long eluded the authorities. Investigators from the National Anti-Fraud Office (Onaf) and UNCyber, in cooperation with French magistrates, gradually tightened the noose around him.
After the judicial closure of Coco in June 2024, bank accounts associated with the site, spread across Hungary, Lithuania, Germany and the Netherlands, were frozen. “More than five million euros were seized”confirmed Laure Beccuau.
Mardi, Isaac Steidl presented himself to the authoritiesputting an end to his run. He was indicted for “complicity in drug trafficking”, “possession and distribution of child pornography”, “aggravated pimping”, “corruption of minors”, “criminal association” and “aggravated money laundering”.
He risks up to 10 years in prison for certain offensesand fines up to 7.5 million euros.
