2023-09-18 05:24:00
Federal Police Commissioner Yves Goethals has been tracking down perpetrators of child abuse for 23 years. He is the head of the “Child Abuse” cell, made up of five investigators. In 2022, the unit received for analysis 4,325,000 photos and 94,041 video clips ranging from 5 seconds to 5 hours. These are images that were seized somewhere in Belgium. These figures therefore do not include the reports that the unit receives from social media. Via this channel, the cell received 22,000 reports concerning Belgians. After analysis, it turned out that, in 40% of cases, there was illegality.
The investigation into Sven Pichal, the famous VRT radio presenter arrested and imprisoned in connection with a child pornography case, is not carried out by his cell, but it is he and his team who track and analyze every day images of child abuse. “In the 23 years that I have worked there, the problem has only gotten worse. The youngest suspect I had was 18, the oldest 92. The authors come from all social classes. “
Everyone is shocked that a famous and very popular television presenter is suspected of possessing and disseminating images of sexual abuse of minors. Do you understand that even today, people seem to be amazed?
I have difficulty understanding this shock wave. There are cases like this every day. I wonder why people think it’s worse when it’s a famous person who had a lot of trust. But for the child it makes no difference whether the author is famous or not or whether it is his father or uncle. Let’s say that when a case is publicized, we say to ourselves that we will perhaps be able to reopen a debate and obtain even more legal means to do our work and that there will be even more prevention messages for the attention of parents.
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. Today, it’s even younger. There are even babies. Now you can also find every possible sexual fantasy in the world of child abuse. There are images that are more “trashy” than others, those where chains or animals are used for example.
Are you still shocked by the images you see, or have the years hardened you?
Yes, it remains shocking. But we cannot let ourselves be overwhelmed. I would say that the motivation to identify the child and, in the process, help find the perpetrator outweighs the emotion. On the other hand, when we achieve a result, it’s moving. We say to ourselves “Yes, we saved one”. Regardless, we receive psychological support from our anti-stress team.
The sexual integrity of children in danger on social networks
Do you see horrible images every day?
We see that the images are becoming more and more explicit, and that the victims are younger. When I started, we were at an average age of 10-11 years old. Today, it’s even younger. There are even babies. Now you can also find every possible sexual fantasy in the world of child abuse. There are images that are more “trashy” than others, those where chains or animals are used for example. But my team and I do not focus on the abuse itself, we look with a professional eye at all the elements of the image or video. I listen to the spoken language and look for clues in the background. Can we identify anything in the image? A newspaper on the corner of a table, for example, can be a clue. The priority objective is to identify the child. Then, we know that 95 percent of aggressors are people from the child’s social circle. Family members, educators, sports coaches…
How do you track down images and authors? For example, are you luring authors with fake profiles?
No, incitement to an offense or crime is authorized in other countries but not in Belgium. And, personally, I am not in favor of it. This would require too much time spent on a single case when we receive so much material. A lot of this comes from citizens who report to Child Focus. We also receive information via the social networks themselves, they have a reporting obligation. Investigators can also find images of child abuse during a home search for a drug case, for example. Also, images arrive to us daily via our international contacts at Interpol. International cooperation is very important. For example, during a search in France, incriminating elements were found. It seemed to investigators that the victim spoke French but with a Belgian accent. We were called.
How are images of child abuse shared among perpetrators?
There are two types of networks. Very structured networks, often on the dark web, with an administrator and members. But there are also many informal networks. These are discussion groups whose members only know each other by their nickname. This is called peer-to-peer, files are exchanged directly between computers. In the group, there may be an exchange between a “Snow White” and a “Pinocchio”. They may know each other in real life, but they don’t know that they are both part of this group. For them, it’s easy. Just type “I want to see a nine year old girl naked” and, you will receive these images anonymously via peers who also have a subscription. We know that last year 19 million criminal images were exchanged each day via peer-to-peer, but in reality we can probably add around 100 million.
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Is there a new emerging phenomenon?
Yes. Children are increasingly filming their own images of abuse. Last year, the IWF discovered around 199,000 websites featuring self-made images of children. For these kids, it’s often a game. It might be sisters filming brothers doing sexual moves and then posting them online to get likes. The problem arises when adults come across these images and misuse them. They can use them to inspire other children to do the same, because that is supposed to be normal.
Just like drug trafficking, the dissemination of images of child sexual abuse will always remain an unresolved problem. Is it frustrating to fight once morest a scourge that is destined to persist?
No, because there will always be investigations which will result in an appropriate sanction. A saved child is a saved child. Comparison is not right, but it is not because we will never be able to stop all the drivers who drive too fast that we must stop the fight, no longer act and no longer raise awareness.
Is there a market for images of sexual abuse?
Yes, there can be financial transactions during an exchange. But there is, even more often, a question of “prestige” in climbing. “This is what you have, this is what is circulating. Well, I have much better.”
Should we invest more in the fight once morest child abuse?
Above all, we must ensure that we, as the police, can use the same resources as the criminal world which, as we know, whatever the field, will always have a small technological lead over us to fill. New European legislation must include a framework that allows us to work with artificial intelligence, for example.
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