A 24-year-old Greek national was arrested by the Cybercrime Prosecution Directorate for child pornography via the internet and seduction of children.
His arrest is the result of months of targeted digital investigations carried out as part of the global cyber police operation, codenamed " HYDRA ".
The 24-year-old possessed and shared, through a special file sharing program ( peer to peer ) with other internet users, numerous files of "hard" child pornography.
Thousands of digital files (videos and photos) of child pornography were found in his possession
At the same time, it was determined that one of the seized digital files depicts him committing indecent acts against a minor
A major child pornography case was investigated by the Cybercrime Prosecution Directorate, within the framework of the global cyber police operation, codenamed "HYDRA" (see the presentation of the Hellenic Police Spokesperson and the Head of the Cybercrime Prosecution Directorate dated 15-05-2014).
It is recalled that during the multi-month online police operation "HYDRA", a total of seventy-eight (78) users - perpetrators were identified, whose electronic traces emerged in thirty-two (32) countries around the world, while in our country three (3) separate criminal cases were formed and three (3) individuals were arrested, against whom criminal prosecution was brought for child pornography via the internet.
More specifically, on 28-11-2013, a profile of an unknown person was identified, through which hard-core child pornography material was being distributed, using a special file sharing program (P2P). To avoid detection, the administrator of the profile in question took increased online protection measures, in order to hinder the investigations of the prosecution authorities.
As a result of the development of months-long digital investigations, the electronic traces of the above-mentioned individual were located and his details were identified, as it emerged that he is a 24-year-old Greek national, a resident of Thessaloniki.
Specifically, it was determined that the 24-year-old was an account administrator on a peer-to-peer file sharing program on the Internet and had a password-protected folder that was suitable for sharing. This folder contained (11) other subfolders with thousands of files (photos and videos) whose names referred to very hard-core child pornography material.
The 24-year-old was arrested on 02-02-2015, in Thessaloniki, and a case was filed against him for child pornography via the internet and seduction of children.
In a search conducted at his home, in the presence of a Public Prosecutor, a hard drive and a mobile phone were found and seized.
From the on-site investigation carried out on the seized digital evidence, thousands of files (photographs and videos) with very hard pornography material of minors, aged approximately four to fifteen years, were found. At the same time, the (11) folders, which he had locked, whose names were identical to those that had been identified online, were also located.
During the preliminary investigation, a file of child pornography was found, depicting the arrested person molesting a ten-year-old minor. It is noted that this is the first time that the participation of a Greek citizen in child pornography material has been recorded.
In fact, another case of the perpetrator's indecency with a four-year-old minor is being investigated, while all seized files will be checked for any other related cases.
The arrested person, with the case file filed against him, was brought to the Prosecutor of the First Instance Court of Thessaloniki on 03-02-2015.
