Starting from a report from the Bank of Italy relating to suspicious financial transactions, the State Police discovered two spouses who broadcast live videos of sexual abuse against minors on the web. Pre-trial detention in prison for the man, obligation to sign and ban on leaving the country for the woman.
The State Police carried out two precautionary measures against a man and a woman held responsible for having broadcast live on the web - for a monetary payment - sexual abuse committed by them against minors. This is a criminal phenomenon known as “Live Streaming Child Abuse”.
The activity originates from an investigation conducted by the National Center for Combating Online Child Pornography (CNCPO) and coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Milan, resulting from a report of suspicious financial transactions received, through the Guardia di Finanza, by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Bank of Italy, subsequently confirmed by further information received from the US Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) in the context of international police cooperation concerning a network of subjects involved in Live Streaming Child Abuse .
The abusers, of Philippine nationality, received payments from PayPal accounts attributable to European users in order to be able to watch live video "shows", consisting of actual sexual abuse of minors, commissioned on the spot by the users concerned. Among these there was also an Italian citizen who, between 2019 and 2020, had made payments to purchase pre-recorded films and live shows starring minors.
Last November, the Milan Postal Police carried out, on behalf of the local Prosecutor's Office, a home and IT search on the devices seized from one of the suspects, whose meticulous forensic analysis made it possible to bring out important evidential evidence against not only of the same subject, but also of his wife of Philippine nationality. During the period in which she lived abroad, the woman - who was part of the aforementioned criminal network - broadcast live, for a fee, videos depicting sexual abuse against her two minor children.
The synergistic investigative effort put in place allowed the issuing of the precautionary measure of custody in prison against the man, while for the wife the obligation to report to the judicial police and the ban on leaving the country were ordered.
The precautionary measures were carried out by the staff of the CNCPO and the Cyber Security Operations Section of Varese.
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