Police officers outside a detention center in Adliyé, Beirut, August 7, 2022. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP Archive)
Six people, including three minors, have been arrested by law enforcement agencies, including for alleged sexual assaults on children, the Internal Security Forces said on Wednesday evening, after media reported the case, specifying that one of the suspects is a Lebanese "influencer" on the TikTok social network.
According to several Lebanese media outlets, the main suspect is "a hairdresser who became a celebrity on TikTok," who allegedly belongs to a gang of drug traffickers and child rapists," says local TV station al-Jadeed. "The gang is made up of 30 people in total. They raped around 30 children," it adds, sparking buzz on social networks.
In a statement, the police confirmed the case on Wednesday evening. "Based on information obtained by the Cybercrime Bureau of the Judicial Police, and following a complaint lodged by a number of minors with the Public Prosecutor's Office concerning sexual assaults, compromising photos and incitement to take drugs by members of a gang, the bureau in question has been able to arrest, to date, six people in Beirut, Mount Lebanon and North Lebanon," said the text. Among the suspects apprehended were three minors, well known on TikTok, of Lebanese, Syrian and Turkish nationality, the statement continued. "The investigation is continuing with a view to arresting all the members of the gang," added the press release, which states that the case has been under investigation for around a month.
A 'heavy' case
Two judicial sources involved in the case confirmed to L'Orient-Le Jour that an investigation is underway. One of them described the case as "heavy."
In detail, according to al-Jadeed, a lawyer filed a denunciation with the Public Prosecutor's Office against the head of the criminal gang, J.B., about a month ago, following a complaint filed by eight minors and their parents against the influencer J.B. The head of the cybercrime brigade, Patrick Obeid, then reacted, conducting the investigation with the children and their families.
According to the results of the investigation, "ten members of the criminal gang were selecting the children on social networks," al-Jadeed further reports. "Ten other members chose the places to take the victims in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. And the remaining ten members preyed on the minors, including the gang leader."
To better convince the children, the head of the network, abusing his position as an influencer, would invite children on TikTok to shoot a video with him to publish on social networks, al-Jadeed details. "He would also offer to cut their hair, gaining their trust. He would then invite them to a party." It was there that he and his accomplices would commit their crimes.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.