More than 1,000 people charged with sharing child abuse video, but may not know it is a crime
Many of the accused are teenagers themselves, and might not have realised the videos constitute child abuse, investigators say
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Your support makes all the difference.More than 1,000 people face preliminary charges of sharing child abuse images in Denmark, in a major case.
Police say that the huge number of people have shared the material, which shows two 15-year-olds having sex. The videos being shared over Facebook Messenger could constitute distribution of child pornography, investigators warned – but the people doing it might not even realise they committed a crime.
Most of the people being charged with the crime are teenagers. And 15 is the age of consent in Denmark, but the material is still illegal.
For now, 1,004 people are facing preliminary charges, which could eventually lead to formal proceedings. But more may come under the investigation, if it is broadened out to include not only people who shared the video but also those who requested it to be sent.
Kjaerside said "young people know it can have huge consequences" to share such material, although he acknowledged they may not know it is a crime.
The case dubbed "Umbrella" was "very large and complex," said Lau Thygesen, another police investigator. The spreading of such material "must be stopped."
So far 1,004 people across Denmark face preliminary charges — a step short of formal charges. If found guilty, they face fines, jail or they can be banned from working with children for a decade. Police said it could also mean "problems" when it comes to entering the United States.
Kjaerside declined to give details about the couple saying they are "victims who have been filmed."
Talking about those who distributed the material, he added, "this is serious and it can have great consequences far into the future."
"People who send this around should ask themselves is this morally acceptable," he told the AP.
Made in 2015, the videos and photo had earlier circulated online, Kjaerside said. Last fall, they were shared through Facebook's Messengerchat platform, after which the social media informed U.S. authorities, which tipped off Denmark via Europol.
"We have picked 10 cases that we would like to test before the city courts," Kjaerside said. "With a little luck we may have it before city courts in a couple of months."
Additional reporting by Associated Press
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