Child porn cases on the rise

By Constantinos Psillides

Child pornography cases are on the rise, according to police spokesman Andreas Angelides who called on the public to be on the lookout for suspect behaviour, especially on social media.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Angelides said that so far this year, police investigated 35 cases regarding child pornography, compared to 23 cases in 2013.

“We urge people, adults and minors alike, to be more careful when interacting with strangers over social media. Don’t accept friendship requests from strangers. These people operate using fake profiles to strike up a conversation with a person they targeted, earn their trust and afterwards ask them for personal information or even pictures,” he said.

“They proceed with threatening to expose them if they don’t give in to their demands. People, especially underage girls can’t handle the pressure and this leads to a complicated situation.”

Angelides said parents should also work on better communicating with their children and encourage them to talk about any suspicious activity over the internet.

The public can contact the police with information on suspicious internet activity on 22-808200 or through the police website:  www.police.gov.cy

 

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.