The Mossos d’Esquadra have arrested a 31-year-old man in Madrid who is accused of crimes of child pornography in the modalities of possession, distribution and production and the crime of sexual assault. The investigation began following a complaint, where through a mobile buying and selling application, the arrested person told third parties that he sexually abused his 9-year-old son. The detainee, who planned to move to Barcelona, ??contacted caregivers and reinforcement teachers for the child. When contacting an interested party, he offered her money in exchange for abusing his son in the presence of the person under investigation. He sent her naked photos of the minor.
Agents from the Central Cybercrime Area (ACCIBER) began working on this photograph, since the sending could constitute a crime of child pornography. At the same time, and with the intention of confirming whether the reported events could constitute some other crime, the researchers tracked the IPs of the application profile created by the person investigated to its location in Madrid.
On August 8, 2022, the Mossos de la DIC requested collaboration from the National Police to take a statement as an investigator for a crime of child pornography. His phone was tapped. The person investigated argued that he had no children or contacts with any minors.
With prior judicial authorization, the man’s cell phone was analyzed and it was determined that he had stored child sexual exploitation material. Specifically, 86 graphic files classified as child pornography were located: a dozen videos and 76 photographs that would show sexual assaults on prepubescent minors. The investigated person had sufficient knowledge of photography and video editing to alter the scenarios in order to avoid the identification of victims and perpetrators.
Conversations could be verified through messaging applications, in which he acknowledged being a possessor and consumer of child pornography, in addition to revealing his history of sexual abuse of minors and his willingness to continue with this activity. Presumably, he would have maintained contact with other profiles with pedophile content, and the investigators assessed the possibility of repeated criminal activity.
For all these reasons, on February 28 of this year, the Mossos arrested the person under investigation in Madrid and an entry and search was carried out, in collaboration with the National Police. The detainee was handed over to the Madrid court on duty a day later.
The investigation remains open and is aimed at identifying the minor victims who appear in the photographs.