Two brothers arrested in Paris for managing stolen intimate content platform
Two brothers aged 21 and 25 have been remanded in custody in Paris on Friday, suspected of administering a platform selling stolen intimate content from 17,000 women, including minors.
Dismantling of an international intimate content platform
According to TF1 Info, two brothers aged 21 and 25 were charged and remanded in custody on Friday 9 October in Paris. They are suspected of having managed the platform NudeLeaksTeens, an international website offering the sale of stolen intimate content. The FBI and French authorities announced the dismantling of the site on Wednesday.
The two men, living with their mother in northern France, admitted to the facts during their police custody. They are among other things charged with possession, distribution, offering and sale of child sexual abuse material. According to the prosecutor, the site generated between €30,000 and €60,000 per month. Investigators seized approximately €700,000 in virtual currency at their home.
The prosecutor described the platform as "a machine of massive destruction" targeting 17,000 young women and girls. He highlighted that the site operated "on a system of rewards for those who would reveal details about the identity of these women". The content came not only from theft, but also included a significant share of child sexual abuse material.
The elder of the two brothers, born in Villeneuve-d'Ascq (Nord), is suspected of having founded the site before gradually entrusting it to his younger brother. At the hearing, he expressed regrets: "If I had known the scale that this would take, I would not have gone into it. I didn't know it was going to cause so much damage to people. I am sorry for the victims."
The lawyer of the first brother, Me Baptiste Bellet, clarified that his client had admitted his involvement and was cooperating with the investigation. The lawyer of the second, Me Émilie Quinton, assured that she was pleading for full cooperation within the framework of the ongoing judicial investigation. The defence of the first brother argued that some of the accessible files came from pornographic websites rather than being stolen by fraudulent means.
Source: TF1 Info