A 43-year-old Cambodian man has been detained after allegedly committing multiple rapes of children and producing and distributing child pornography. A joint task force, including the Child Protection Unit (CPU), began investigating the case after discovering pornographic images of Cambodian children being produced and posted online.
A December 1 statement from the CPU explained that their inquiries led to searches of several residential locations, and the arrest. The man has been sent to the Kampong Chhnang Provincial Court for prosecution on charges of aggravated rape of children and the production and distribution of child pornography.
According to the CPU, several victims have already been identified. Following a full forensic analysis of the numerous digital devices that were confiscated, it warned that it expected to identify more victims.
“This suspect posed a serious risk to many child victims,” said James McCabe, CPU director.
He expressed his gratitude and appreciation to all stakeholders for achieving the result, offering special thanks to all relevant authorities for their swift action.
The CPU described the investigation as a “great example” of the collective commitment of all stakeholders in protecting and preventing children from becoming victims of crimes committed by perpetrators online.
“It is also a meaningful message to anyone who thinks that Cambodia does not have the capability to investigate online crimes against children. If you produce child sexual abuse images and post them on the internet, we will arrest you, without fail,” said the CPU statement.
According to the CPU, the operation, dubbed “Hotel 25”, was conducted by a joint task force composed of the National Police Commissariat of the Ministry of Interior, the Department of Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection, the Kampong Chhnang Provincial Police Commissariat, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) of the US embassy and the CPU.
