American citizen sentenced to 10 years in prison for child pornography
A criminal group involving 11 individuals was detained on charges of children trafficking and making child pornography in a joint operation of Georgian, US, Australian law enforcers and Europol last September. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
Tweet 
Share
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.
The other eight face from four to six years in prison after admitting the crime, while yet another defendant, who denied the charges, has been sentenced to six years in prison.
A criminal group involving 11 individuals was detained on charges of children trafficking and making child pornography in a joint operation of Georgian, the United States, Australian law enforcers and Europol last September. Ten of 11 individuals had been sent to pretrial detention.
- 10 of 11 detained for child trafficking, pornography sent to pretrial detention
- 11 detained for child trafficking, child pornography, including school teacher
The Georgian Interior Ministry then reported that the citizens of the US and Australia had a photo salon in a rented apartment in Tbilisi, where, with the help of their Georgian associates, they were making children pornography to sell abroad.
Reportedly, 10 girls aged 8-14 were forced to be involved in the illegal activity by their parents and others.
The crime is initially punishable by 17 to 20 years in prison or life imprisonment.
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.
Police have detained 11 more individuals for child trafficking and child pornography, including parents and one school teacher, the Ministry of Internal Affair reports.
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.
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.
The Tbilisi City Court has found one Australian and two Georgian citizens guilty in a child pornography case, sentencing them to 20 and 19 years in prison.
About 70 per cent of children given to state care by social workers in 2019-2020 have been subject to violence, while the remaining 30 per cent have been placed in state care due to economic factors, said Deputy Health Minister Tamar Barkalaia.
The US Department of States has released its Trafficking in Persons report for 2020 in which Georgia remains in Tier 1, along with the US, UK, Switzerland and others, for fully meeting minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. Georgia is the only Eastern Partnership state in Tier 1. “The Georgian government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period; therefore Georgia remained in Tier 1. These efforts included increasing overall prosecution and victim protection efforts."
On the occasion of the 6th European Day on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, the Council of Europe has raised the topic of preventing risky behaviour by children related to self-generating sexual images and/or videos especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.