Suspect arrested in international investigation into illegal webcam sex
The National Public Prosecutor's Office has instituted criminal proceedings against a 35-year-old man who is suspected of inciting underage girls to perform sexual acts in front of a webcam. Via the internet, the suspect is thought to have victimized dozens of girls in several countries, in any case in the Netherlands, the UK, and the U.S.
The National Public Prosecutor's Office gave this announcement today at an initial pro forma hearing in this case at the Amsterdam District Court. The court extended the suspect's pretrial detention for a further three months.
The 35-year-old suspect was arrested in mid January in the Tilburg area in the Netherlands. The suspicions against the man are that he approached underage girls via the internet and then seduced them into performing sexual acts in front of a webcam. He is suspected of subsequently pressurizing them to participate in making new material. The investigation has not revealed any indications that the suspect abused his victims physically.
It has not yet been ascertained how many girls the suspect approached. The investigation is well underway and is focusing on identifying victims, who are then informed about the investigation and offered victim support.
The suspect probably also defrauded adult men living outside the Netherlands. These men performed sexual acts in front of the webcam on the assumption that they were in internet contact with an underage boy. The suspect is thought to have blackmailed the men by threatening to hand the images over to the police.
The 35-year-old man is currently in pretrial detention on charges of indecent assault, the production and dissemination of child pornography, fraud, computer intrusion, and the possession of hard drugs.
The National Public Prosecutor's Office and the police are cooperating closely with the authorities in other countries, including the UK National Crime Agency.