Photo of alleged child abusers circulated by ISF. (Credit: @LebISF/X)
BEIRUT — The Internal Security Forces circulated on Tuesday the images of two 45-year-old men involved in the recently unveiled TikTok child pornography ring and called on victims to give their testimonies, ensuring that “information related to the victims will remain highly confidential and strictly classified.”
In a statement, the ISF explained that its request for evidence and testimonies is in response to a notice from the judiciary and that the two detainees, nicknamed "Jovi " and “Appo," are both Lebanese and born in 1979.
Victim testimonies and the detainees' confessions revealed that the two men sexually assaulted numerous minors, some still unidentified, the ISF noted.
Among the 16 people arrested for involvement in the child pornography ring were a hairdresser, a ready-to-wear retailer famous on TikTok, a dentist, a photographer, a cab driver, and a man who was responsible for transferring money between the members of the group. Four minors were also arrested.
The suspects face charges of rape, sexual assault, sexual exploitation and money laundering, among other charges.
According to police, the gang lured children via TikTok messages and then sold exploitative images of them on the dark web.
“Therefore, the General Directorate requests those who have fallen victim to their actions to contact the Cybercrime Bureau at the number: 01/293293, to provide any information they may have. It is noted that information related to the victims will remain highly confidential and strictly classified,” the statement said.
Members of the ring abroad
On May 28, a lawyer who is a member of the bar in Tripoli, was arrested by the ISF intelligence unit in connection with the child pornography network.
In April, details of the ring, in which some 30 people are said to be involved became known to the public when local media reported on the case, following a decision on the part of eight children's parents, more than a month ago, to lodge child abuse allegations with the Public Prosecutor's Office against one of the suspects.
The head of the cybercrime unit of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), Patrick Obeid, then began investigating the case with the minors and their families.
Some suspects are believed to be abroad, prompting Tanios Saghbini, public prosecutor at the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeal, to send rogatory letters to the countries in which they are believed to be located, asking for legal assistance. He also issued two arrest warrants, via Interpol, for two suspects: one in Dubai and the other in Sweden.
The Tripoli Bar Association Council also said that it is launching "a hotline to provide support to victims targeted by criminal hands, aiming to cooperate with educational and social institutions in raising awareness of families and their children." The hotline number is 81/519782.