“Director of an association for young people”, “sports instructor”, “deputy mayor”, no less than 95 French people were arrested after the dismantling of an international child pornography network: Femme Actuelle Le MAG

While the Mazan rape trial has just ended on Thursday December 19, 2024, a new sordid affair has just been revealedas reported by AFP which confirms information from Franceinfo. In question, the discovery of an important international child pornography networkwith 95 French people among those arrested. Thursday December 19, 2024, the French gendarmerie revealed the results of this operation which targeted a international network for the exchange of child pornography images. This investigation, on an unprecedented scale, made it possible to identify 16,000 users in 130 countries. All used forums on the encrypted messaging service Signal to distribute this content. The searches made it possible to discover 375,000 photos and 156,000 videos, specifies the gendarmerie in its press release. In addition, investigators seized 122 computers, 330 digital media and 152 smartphones. “More than 200 terabytes of images and videos were made available to participants.the authorities said.

The use of “an unequivocal code”

Among those arrested, the profiles are varied. The suspects range in age from 18 to 74, with one notable case of a 16-year-old minor. Of the 95 French people, 36 were already known for offenses linked to the consultation of child pornography sites or sexual offenses involving minors. Seven of them were even registered File of perpetrators of sexual or violent offenses (Fijais). “One of them worked as director of a youth information association, one was a sports instructor, the deputy of a mayor is also involved”detailed the investigators.

The origin of this case dates back to an investigation carried out in 2023 by the Versailles research section. At the time, the police targeted a thirty-year-old from Hauts-de-Seinesuspected of regularly viewing child pornography images. During the search carried out in November 2023, the gendarmes discovered that this man was a member of several discussion groups on the Signal messaging service. These groups had names using “an unequivocal code”according to a source close to the matter, reports BFMTV, Thursday December 19, 2024. Investigators quickly understood that these channels were used to broadcast child pornography content. Investigations are underway to determine if some users also produced this type of content. All discussion groups on Signal have since been closed. No less than 140 specialized investigators from the gendarmerie were mobilized.