The Guardia Civil have arrested a father who was suspected of sexually assaulting his 6-month-old daughter after a special cybercrime team located a video of the offences on the Deep Web.
Once the perpetrator was identified, it was verified that he was living with the minor until the moment of his arrest.
In the family home, hundreds of files of child pornography were found, confirming that many of the sexual assaults on the minor had been ongoing over time.
Since 2014, these EUROPOL working groups have allowed the safeguarding of 695 children and the arrest of 228 individuals.
The Guardia Civil, as part of its regular activities in EUROPOL working groups, participated in the 13th edition of the Task Force for the Identification of Victims of Child Sexual Assault (VIDTF), where 33 specialists from 23 countries took part.
In this recent edition of the VIDTF, 3 underage victims of sexual abuse were located, leading to the arrest of 2 offenders. One victim and her assailant are attributed to the work carried out by the Guardia Civil.
The investigation began after specialists in the technological investigation of sexual assaults on minors located and viewed a video circulating in paedophile forums. The video depicted a man, supposedly of Spanish nationality, tying and sexually assaulting a baby.
As a result of the investigations, the Guardia Civil arrested a 32-year-old man in the province of Madrid, who allegedly sexually assaulted his less than a year old daughter, recording these actions and sharing them online.
Immediate Priority
Given the real and imminent danger to the victim, the agents analysed the video’s characteristics using sophisticated technical tools, police databases, and international collaboration. This allowed the full identification of both the aggressor and the victim.
Due to the severity of the situation and to safeguard the physical integrity of the victim, a search and seizure were conducted at the author’s residence. This led to his arrest and the immediate protection of the baby, a victim of multiple sexual assaults.
Hundreds of files with sexually explicit content involving minors
The agents in charge of this investigation analyzed over 120 gigabytes of information from the material seized from the suspect in just 24 hours. They found hundreds of files of child sexual exploitation, both on his laptop and mobile device.
Among the analyzed information were several files of sexual assaults on the suspect’s own daughter, confirming that these acts had been ongoing over time.
In parallel, after informing the victim’s mother of the events, she recognized her daughter and her husband, the minor’s father, in the video that triggered the investigation. She also identified the room where the events took place as the current family home.
The judicial authority ordered the suspect’s preventive detention until the trial for the investigated acts.
Europol Victim Identification Task Force (VIDTF)
Since 2014, Europol periodically brings together experts in victim identification from around the world to focus on unresolved cases of child sexual abuse. Over 695 children have been safeguarded, and 228 offenders have been arrested as a result of operations based on the VIDTF.
Simple clues can sometimes help solve a case. Therefore, this working group looks for objects appearing in the background of thousands of images with sexually explicit material involving unidentified minors, allowing for further investigation based on the origin of these objects.
Tips for Minors’ Internet Access
As known, the internet has become the best ally of sexual predators of minors, who exploit the anonymity it offers to distribute and store the pedophilic material they produce.
Moreover, many voices directly link early exposure to pornography to the drift towards child sexual abuse behaviors. In this sense, supervision and parental control in accessing new technologies are crucial.
Therefore, it is important to remember the following basic tips:
Parents should monitor their minor children’s contact with adults who are not fully trusted, not allowing it unless with an adult present.
There are parental control programs that can be installed on various devices, allowing parents to be aware of the content and accesses carried out by their children.
It is very convenient to restrict the hours, programs, websites, etc., where minors connect.
Regularly talk to minors about their internet browsing and daily activities online, trying to gather information about what they see and consult, aiming to identify possible reservations on their part.
To report situations of sexual abuse of minors, contact the Guardia Civil via email at child-pornography@guardiacivil.org.
