Police Arrest 96 Digital Sex Offenders Targeting Children and Adolescents Through Undercover Investigations

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Police Agency announced on the 22nd that since the introduction of the undercover investigation system in the field of digital sex crimes against children and adolescents, 96 suspects have been apprehended, with 6 of them detained. Following the revision of the Act on the Protection of Children and Adolescents from Sexual Abuse, undercover investigations have been permitted exclusively in the field of digital sex crimes against children and adolescents since September last year.

According to the police, the Cyber Investigation Bureau of the National Investigation Headquarters conducted 90 undercover investigations during this period. Among these, 81 cases involved "identity-concealed investigations," where officers did not reveal their police status, resulting in the arrest of 24 suspects (3 detained). The remaining 9 cases involved "identity-disguised investigations," where officers disguised themselves as non-police identities, leading to the arrest of 72 suspects (3 detained). Regarding the types of crimes targeted by undercover investigations, 75 cases (83.3%) involved the sale, distribution, or advertisement of child sexual exploitation materials; 10 cases (11.1%) involved the production or mediation of such materials; 3 cases (3.3%) involved possession of child sexual exploitation materials; and 2 cases (2.2%) involved conversations with children and adolescents for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Identity-concealed investigations were mainly used for cases involving the sale, distribution, or advertisement of child sexual exploitation materials. Although identity-disguised investigations accounted for only 10% (9 cases) of all undercover investigations, they resulted in the arrest of 75% (72 individuals) of suspects. Notably, 69 individuals possessing or viewing child sexual exploitation materials were apprehended through identity-disguised investigations.

The National Police Agency also formed an "Undercover Investigation Inspection Team" to minimize trial and error and abuse of the undercover investigation system, conducting on-site inspections at 12 police stations nationwide. The results showed no cases where individuals without criminal intent were induced to commit crimes or where collected evidence was used for purposes other than investigation. The National Police Agency plans to further establish undercover investigations as a standard investigative technique in digital sex crime cases against children and adolescents by selecting additional investigators with cyber investigation experience as undercover officers, providing them with specialized training at the Police Investigation Academy, and deploying them to the field this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.