NEWS

Alarm over extreme child porn

A medical student who allegedly traded images of babies being sexually abused was yesterday charged with being a child pornographer by a prosecutor in Kavala, northern Greece, as experts expressed their shock at the type of material found in the 25-year-old’s possession. The unnamed student was given 24 hours to testify before a magistrate after being handed the criminal charge of being involved in child pornography. He was also charged with circulating indecent images, which is regarded as a misdemeanor. Police seized from his home two computer hard drives which they say contained some 250,000 photographs and videos, including indecent images of babies. Officers believe the suspect was part of an international ring. Officers said the student had no criminal record and his neighbors described him as being a «nice guy». Speaking at a conference in Thessaloniki on Internet safety, experts reacted to the uncovering of such hardcore child pornography. «I thought that these kind of things did not happen in Greece,» said the head of the Greek Consumer Organization (EKATO), Tania Kyriakidi. She added that authorities should seek to punish people involved in the process of producing and selling the material, as well as those who purchase it. Nikos Frydas, the director of Safenet, a self-regulatory body for Internet content which runs the Safeline.gr website said it is difficult to identify people who are involved in trading child pornography online. «They usually trade in child pornography or carry out electronic crimes to make money,» said Frydas. «They may have some perversion but it is not always the case. They are not necessarily pedophiles, they are doing business.» Frydas said there is no filter software which can totally guarantee that a child will not be able to access indecent material online. He said parents should be aware of how the Internet works and be prepared to report offensive sites to the authorities.

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