• Events: They identify 19 minors who recorded sexual videos for the internet and arrest a pedophile
  • Hemeroteca.New protocol of the Archbishopric of Granada against abuses: priests are prohibited from being alone with minors

A good job, a beautiful girlfriend and plans for the future that collapsed like a house of cards the moment the Civil Guard agent put the handcuffs on her.

- "Why have you ruined your life like this?" They asked him, moments after he confessed that he was hiding pedophile material in the house .

- "I can't help it," replied the young man, concerned that his surroundings did not know the reason for the arrest.

The protagonist of this scene is one of the two individuals arrested for crimes against freedom and sexual indemnity committed against a ten-year-old girl from a municipality of Malaga who fell into their networks of deception and coercion after being approached in a videochat application . A new technological tool that is the latest Trojan horse for sexual predators to attract new victims.

A simple search in the application stores highlights the growth of these tools, which have multiplied their downloads during the state of alarm decreed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Bernardo Moltó , spokesman for the Malaga Civil Guard Command, affirms that "the increase in group video calls in confinement has forced the main free messaging systems to implement programs that facilitate interpersonal relationships." "This has opened a new route for sexual cyber predators to deceive minors," he adds, to specify that many victims are unaware of the true intentions of their interlocutor by taking it as "a harmless game."

The authorities acknowledge that, "as there are no borders or a global law on the Internet," they run into jurisdictional difficulties to tackle this problem. For example, Spanish regulations prevent minors under 14 from registering in any application; However, the companies that create them, "based on the more permissive legislation of the country where they are located", may even allow the registration of children with lower ages.

"The app is one more tool for the cybercriminal," says Moltó, who points out that these sexual predators modify their modus operandi to act through "the one that is most fashionable among minors" at all times.

Sexual content material

These individuals tend to gain the trust of their victim - from whom they sometimes hide their true age - to get them to send them audiovisual material with sexual content as a prior step to trying to set an appointment . To achieve their objectives, they do not hesitate to use threats and coercion, as was confirmed in the Albur operation , which after months of investigation allowed the arrest of two individuals who threatened a girl with publishing intimate photos of her on the networks if she did not send them more. .

"The so-called Internet of Things (IOT), with the increase in homes with Internet connection and the use of mobile phones as a communication tool, has led to us having more connected computers and more people using new technologies, which entails that there are more criminals working in this area ", recalls the spokesman for the Armed Institute, which reports that in recent times there have been an increase in complaints from" parents of minors who have detected that their children use video chat applications with conversations not in accordance with that age, derived to sexual subjects ".

On these occasions, "we should not act immediately against the person who is speaking to them", as "the threat would put the pedophile on notice". "It is recommended to stop talking and report" , as we must be aware that we are facing very serious events from which charges can be derived for crimes against the intimacy and sexual indemnity of minors.

And as a preventive method, "it is important to control the use and the programs to be installed on the devices." The use of parental control applications is a good tool to know how the minor uses the mobile phone.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Malaga
  • Civil Guard
  • Pedophilia
  • Events
  • Childhood
  • Andalusia

EventsMore violence on the Costa del Sol: they find a man shot inside a house in Marbella

CoronavirusThe coronavirus rebounds in Andalusia: 96 outbreaks and 3,534 active cases

MálagaThe paddle surf ride that ended with the discovery of a naked corpse

See links of interest

  • Last News
  • Programming
  • English translator
  • Andalusia Calendar
  • Work calendar
  • Daily horoscope
  • Santander League Standings
  • Movies TV
  • Topics
  • 2nd stage: Nice - Nice
  • Belgian Grand Prix, live