Pavel Durov, founder of the Telegram platform, was arrested by French authorities on 24 August for the proliferation of sexual images exploiting minors on his channels, a proliferation monitored by investigators from the Centre for Combating Digital Crimes, the elite unit of the gendarmerie in the fight against cybercrime.
The same type of images, circulating on the same platform and by the same investigative service, are at the origin of a major case for trafficking in these contents that will begin on September 24 before the Paris Criminal Court.
In 2023, using false identities, the gendarmes resorted to channels such as “Zineb the cat gang”, ” Ambiguous “, “Videos2teens” EITHER ” No limit ”, and dismantled a network of “CP” (child pornography) “distributors”, as the initiates in these files are called. The elements of investigation that The world I was able to consult, they offer a fascinating immersion into the heart of a spiral that leads men of all ages, including teenagers, from “ordinary” pornography to the consumption of images and videos of child rape, bought, resold or exchanged without even thinking about their conditions of production.
Perhaps the worst of these channels was “Unlimited”supermarket of the extreme: Nazi iconography, videos of torture or murder, and above all, therefore, child pornography content. At the head of this wildcard of ultraviolence, a pseudonym: “Vladimir Putin”, “Vlad” EITHER “The Russian”which manages half a dozen similar channels and makes money from its catalogue. Behind this nickname hides Romain F., arrested in February at his mother’s home in Morbihan.
This 39-year-old man, a drug addict and suffering from psychiatric disorders, is a repeat offender: he was already charged in 2022 and 2024 for possession of images of child pornography, which has not discouraged him. In front of the police, “Vlad”who lives on the disabled adult benefit, will admit to being the origin of about twenty Telegram groups. His interrogation paints the portrait of a kind of “ hikikomori »named after Japanese teenagers who lived secluded at home, a concept that was later imported to Europe. Romain F. is a phobic who never leaves the house, consumes massive doses of cannabis and spends his days dozing off between consoles, computers and phones.
“I didn’t imagine it like this”
He readily admits to making a living from the resale, since 2020, of hundreds of links to “packs” of child pornography content, sold for between 20 and 100 euros depending on their size, which would have earned him around 60,000 euros, spent on basic necessities. “on Uber Eats and video games”According to his statements, in police custody, his difficulty is not so much in admitting the facts as in remembering the many groups he has created or that he manages. According to him, his motive is not sexual but economic. What do you think of the fact that so many people are buying this content from him? “It’s shocking”, He answers. Weak and lonely, “sad and depressed”According to his mother, Romain F. becomes a charismatic leader at Telegram, ruling with an iron fist. “KGB”the team of moderators of your main channel, “Without limit”who calls him ” boss “ in their conversations.
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