95 people were arrested in France on Thursday for allegedly being part of an international child abuse network. Police announced that images and videos of assaults involving minors were shared via the messaging service Signal.
A total of 375,000 photos and 156,000 videos were found during searches between December 9 and 19. The gendarmerie said on Thursday that hundreds of computers, smartphones and other digital devices had been seized. Investigators originally searched a suspect’s cell phone and discovered matching discussion groups on Signal.
More than a third of those arrested were already known to the police for sexual offenses against children and young people or for using relevant websites. Seven of them were registered in France’s national database for sexual and violent offenders, and most of the suspects had already admitted to the acts.
Sports teacher and youth organization director suspected
The suspects include the director of a youth organization, a sports teacher and a deputy mayor. The arrested are between 18 and 74 years old, one is only 16. More than 16,000 people from 130 countries were registered on the child pornography forums. The investigation started in November 2023.
The arrests took place during the high-profile Avignon rape trial. On Thursday, the main perpetrator, Dominique Pelicot, was sentenced to the maximum sentence of twenty years. For years he had regularly drugged his now 71-year-old wife Gisèle with sleeping pills, raped her himself and left her to be raped by strangers.
Source: Krone
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