According to SVT Nyheter, a 23-year-old man from Stockholm is being prosecuted – suspected of having led a network selling pornographic images and videos of thousands of young women and girls in Thailand.
The man is charged with serious child pornography offenses and gross illegal invasion of privacy. At least 4,000 victims, mainly in Thailand, has allegedly been secretly recorded in connection with video calls.
The images and videos showing the plaintiffs in a sexual context have since been sold through a social media platform. Often together with personal information about the victims.
“They did not know that they were recorded and that the content was then sold and distributed. In several cases, information about the victims has been shared. Information such as which school they attend along with their profile picture on Facebook or Instagram,” said Anneli Tirud Wallin, the chamber prosecutor who led the Swedish part of the investigation.
Swedish man arrested later
The case was revealed by Thai police several years ago and numerous have already been sentenced in Thailand. But just over a year ago, a man was arrested in Stockholm on suspicion of leading the criminal network. The man, who is a Swedish citizen, is suspected of having earned at least two million Swedish kroner from the business.
“Some of the allegations he admits to and some he denies,” says Henrik Olsson Lilja, who is the Swedish mans defense lawyer.
All material, including 74,420 images and 19,696 films, has been reviewed by Swedish police. In most of the cases, the victims are unidentified, but in six cases it has been established that the material concerns girls under the age of eighteen.
The trial, which is one of the largest cases of unlawful invasion of privacy tried by a Swedish court, began Monday in Södertörn district court.
Source: svt.se
