A 17-YEAR-old Limassol boy was arrested on charges of possession and distribution of child pornography, police said yesterday.
The authorities believe he is the youngest person to date found with such material on his computer.
“I don’t believe we’ve had anyone as young as him arrested for possessing child pornography. It really is quite a concern to us that more and more people are involved in this sort of thing, and someone so young. God help us all,” a police source told the Cyprus Mail.
Police were led to the teenager’s home on Wednesday following a tip-off from two Cypriot officers currently in the United States undergoing an extensive practical course with the FBI on internet crime.
A search of the premises was conducted in the presence of both the boy and his mother. The 17-year-old then allegedly confessed that the material was his and that he had distributed it.
Police said the teenager’s computer was seized as evidence and sent for testing. The boy was charged in writing and released.
Although the penalty for possession and distribution of child pornography carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years imprisonment and/or £25,000 fine, it is possible the teen will be let off due to his age, police said.
“Investigators will continue to examine the case and to collect the evidence as it develops, putting together a file. The file will then be sent to the Attorney-general to decide how to proceed. Due to the boy’s age it is likely the case will not end up in court. If he were an adult, there would be no question of that,” the source said.
Until now, only two adults have been convicted for child pornography. One was given a six month suspended sentence and the other paid a £1,000 fine.
Police spokesman Chrystalla Demetriou admitted yesterday that the growing number of cases involving child pornography was of great concern to the authorities, who often found it difficult to build a case due to lack of evidence.
In 2004, eight cases were investigated, followed by 16 cases in 2005, and 26 cases last year, she said.
In its efforts to combat what has, in recent years, become an increasingly common crime, Demetriou said the police force was in the process of setting up a specialised unit to target internet crime, predominantly child porn, and that an inspector and constable with IT knowledge were currently in Illinois undergoing training with the FBI.
“In April, other FBI experts will come over to give a series of seminars and to train around 20 police officers on internet crime,” she said.
A number, yet to be confirmed, of trained officers would then be selected to join the special task force. The remaining officers would be dispatched to district criminal investigation departments so that they could liaise and co-ordinate their efforts with the special unit.
Demetriou said the police force often co-operated with foreign countries due to their expertise in fighting certain crimes. She said the US had a list of training courses and seminars it ran and that it was up to the Cyprus police which seminars it chose to enrol for.
During the course of the year, officers will also be sent to Greece for further training on internet crime, she said.
Meanwhile, following Austria’s discovery of a global child pornography ring last week, Demetriou said the authorities were still waiting for a CD from the Austrian authorities with information regarding the possible involvement of Cypriots.
“Immediately after the story broke, we contacted the Austrian authorities for more information. We are still waiting to see what evidence they’ve gathered. But even if they have IP addresses in Cyprus, it does not mean Cypriots are involved,” she said.
Asked whether the delay could prompt certain suspects to go underground, the police spokeswoman said that she hoped that whoever the suspects were they would not disappear into the woodwork, and was optimistic that the Austrian authorities had enough evidence on them not to allow them to slip away.
The Austrian authorities said they had uncovered a major international child pornography ring involving more than 2,360 suspects from 77 countries, including hundreds in the United States, who paid to view videos of young children being sexually abused.
