In France, a major international child crime network has been dismantled. 95 people arrested who distributed child pornography images depicting minors on the Signal messaging service.
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The large-scale investigation began a year ago following the arrest of a man accused of habitually viewing child pornography images. By searching his phone, investigators discovered the existence of several discussion groups on the encrypted messaging service Signal.
During their investigations, the police identified 95 people. All are arrested in France and interviewed. The searches, carried out in recent days, led to the discovery of 375,000 photos and 15,000 videos. 122 computers, 330 digital media and more than 150 smartphones were seized.
Men aged 16 to 74
The profile of those arrested varies: all are men, aged 18 to 74. There is also a 16 year old minor. Among them, thirty-six were already known for sexual offenses against minors or consultation of sites featuring minors. Seven were already registered as perpetrators of sexual or violent offenses. The majority of those involved have already admitted the facts. They mainly live in the Ile-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes or Grand-Est regions.
According to the gendarmerie, confirming information from BFM TVmore than 16,000 people in total in 130 countries participated in forums where more than 200 terabytes of images and videos were made available to users.
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