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In an operation by the Croatian police, in cooperation with the Australian police and Europol, a 29-year-old man suspected of multiple sexual abuse of children, dissemination of child pornography and management of an online group in which abuse footage was exchanged was detained.
Croatian police have arrested a 29-year-old Croatian citizen in an international operation on suspicion of multiple sexual abuse of children and running an online paedophile group with more than 250 members from different countries, it was announced today in Zagreb.
It has been established that a male suspect in a county in western Croatia had been sexually abusing a young female child over a long period of time, to whom he had previously made child sexual abuse content available and had repeatedly sexually harassed her. A search of devices and media for storing digital data found more than 250 photos and videos depicting child sexual abuse, and through communication via social networks and chat applications that enable instant anonymous online video communications, he had sexually explicit contact with at least 20 victims in Croatia and a dozen victims from other countries, the Croatian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced.
A man from the western part of Croatia is suspected of creating, storing, sharing and administering content depicting child sexual abuse via online platforms and messaging applications.
It was determined that the suspect committed five more criminal offenses of exploiting children for pornography and violating a child’s privacy.
There is reasonable suspicion that the perpetrator, through applications with end-to-end (E2E) encryption, organized and managed a group with more than 250 members from different countries, who exchanged child sexual abuse materials with each other, knowing that the content was child sexual abuse content and with the direct intention of sharing and viewing such content within the group, the police announced.
During the communication, the suspect induced the victims to engage in sexually explicit communication and actions, showed them his genitals during video contact, and recorded and stored the entire communication with the victims on a computer without their knowledge.
Communication between the victims and perpetrators took place in the family homes, at a time when the parents were present and even in the same room, but also via video transmission during school classes, the statement said.
The Primorje-Gorski Kotar Police Department and the Cybersecurity Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs led the operation in cooperation with the Australian police and Europol. The rapid response of the Croatian police, in cooperation with international partners, identified the child victim from the territory of the Republic of Croatia and immediately provided protection and professional assistance.
A criminal investigation was launched after Australian police detected a person who shared child sexual abuse material via an online image-sharing platform and administered and created a group on the communication application with E2E encryption.
Participants in the group, which at the time of the location had more than 250 members from different countries, were exchanging content depicting severe sexual abuse of children.
The Croatian police were provided with information indicating that the perpetrator was likely from Croatia, which the Croatian police quickly determined. The information also came via Europol.
The criminal investigation is still ongoing to identify all potential victims and collect digital evidence.
Police have urged parents and guardians to talk to their children about their online activities, to monitor who and how they communicate, and to report any suspicions of abuse or inappropriate communication.
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