Croatia arrests online child sex abuse ring leader
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ZAGREB – A Croatian man has been arrested for allegedly running an online child sexual abuse network which shared “severe” material with over 250 people around the world and targeted dozens of victims, police said Friday.
According to police, the 29-year-old man is also accused of sexually abusing a young girl for an extended period, and contacting victims online to supply his network with child sexual abuse content.
An international police operation uncovered an alleged group organised by the suspect “of more than 250 members from various countries via end-to-end encrypted applications who exchanged child sexual abuse material”.
The man is alleged to have made explicit contact with at least 20 victims in Croatia and about 10 victims from other countries, police said.
In some cases, the man is alleged to have contacted child victims through online platforms while their parents were in the same room or when the child was in school.
A search of his phone uncovered hundreds of child sex abuse images and videos, and police said the group had “exchanged content depicting severe child sexual abuse”.
The investigation was launched after Australian police detected an individual sharing child sexual abuse material with a group on an encrypted communication application.
The investigation to identify all potential victims is ongoing. AFP
