10 of 11 detained for child trafficking, pornography sent to pretrial detention
Most of the detainees are the parents of the children involved in pornography. Photo: Tbilisi City Court.
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Ten of 11 individuals, who have been detained in a joint operation by Georgian and foreign law enforcers, for child trafficking and child pornography charges have been sent to ptetrial detention.
One man sent to pre-detention is a citizen of the US, who came to Georgia in 2011 to teach English in a village of the Samegrelo region, in western Georgia, where he did so for nine months as a part of Teach and Learn with Georgia programme.
At that time he was 50 years old and seemed quite a good man. We can describe him only positively,” the school personnel say.
The trial regarding the preventive measure of the 11th detainee, who is a citizen of Australia, is scheduled for later today.
Prosecutor Mariam Gogoreliani says that it is a separate case, not connected with the 10 detainees, but also involving the accusations regarding traffiking and pornography.
Gogoreliani says that only one of the 11 is accused of non-reporting the crime.
The video released by the Georgian Interior Ministry, reflecting the detention.
Nine of the detainees are Georgian citizens, eight are the parents of the children involved in the illegal activity. All of the parents had information regarding the photo sessions and received money from the detained foreign citizens.Two parents of the eight were also trying to find other children and communicate with their parents to get them involved in the offence,” Gogoreliani says.
A relative of one of the detained parents told the media that they had no information about the content of the photo sessions.
Vladimer Bortsvadze from the Interior Ministry stated later yesterday that special operations were conducted in Gori, Lanchkhuti and Tbilisi, saying that there were two photo studios arranged in Tbilisi, in rented apartments.
The ministry reported yesterday that 10 underage girls aged 8-14 have been forced to be involved in the illegal activity, with the consent of their parents, who received 800 ($270) - 3,000 ($1000) GEL income from the detainees.
The list of detainees and the victims may increase,” the Georgian Interior Ministry reports.
The ministry stated that American and Australian citizens were selling the pornography abroad and took the income received from the sale from cryptomats [digital currency ATMs] located at different trade centres in Tbilisi.
The Georgian Interior Ministry has held a meeting with members of international organisations, NGOs and state agencies earlier today to speak about crimes committed against and by minors.
A criminal group involving 11 individuals have been identified and detained on charges of children trafficking and making child pornography in a joint operation of Georgian, US, Australian law enforcers and Europol. One American and one Australian citizen are among the detainees, while others are citizens of Georgia, including the parents and relatives of the affected children.
European Day on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse is being marked in Tbilisi today. Georgia joined the European Convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse in 2015.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia has drafted a bill which provides civil restrictions and tougher punishment for those convicted of sexual crimes against minors.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) reports that during the first nine months of 2019, 152 individuals were convicted of a sexual offence, 114 of which were against minors.
A 35-year-old woman has been detained in Tbilisi who forced her 12 and 13-year-old children to beg for money on central Pekini Street, threatening them with physical and sexual exploitation if they refused to do so.
Police have detained 11 more individuals for child trafficking and child pornography, including parents and one school teacher, the Ministry of Internal Affair reports.
Seven individuals, including a mother and two doctors, have been detained by Georgian law enforcers for child trafficking. The detainees attempted to sell a newborn child for $13,000, the investigative department of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia reported today.The ministry reports that during pregnancy the detainees found an individual who wanted the child and was ready to pay the money.
Tbilisi City Court has sentenced an American citizen, one of nine to be tried in a child pornography case in Georgia, to 10 years in prison. The American citizen is one of the defendants in a child pornography case with whom the Tbilisi City Court has approved a plea agreement.