PHNOM PENH: On March 23, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court charged a 27-year-old Cambodian man from Battambang with production and distribution of adult pornography under Article 39 and distribution of child pornography under Article 41 of the Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitaition. The court puts him on remand to wait for a trial.
On March 20, the man was arrested by the Ministry of Interior’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department on suspicion of producing and distributing pornography, including images of children being sexually abused. According to police, the man was also allegedly involved in sexual extortion of a 15 year old boy by blackmailing him to share nude images if the victim did not send him money. A further police investigation revealed that the man knew his victim on social media and formed a relationship for months to gain trust before he tricked the victim into sending him nude photos and videos of which he later made use to threaten the boy for money on multiple occasions.
APLE’s victim support and assistance team has provided counseling and emotional support to the victim and his family throughout the complaint process, while assisting police in identifying the suspect, investigating the allegation and gathering evidence. The suspect’s mobile devices were seized and sent to the Anti Cybercrime Department for further examination.
Mr. Phay Sopheak, APLE Criminal Justice Development Team Leader, said that the number of reports of child sexual exploitation online received by the INHOPE hotline run by APLE increased by 14% in 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. Most reports involved online child grooming for sexual purposes and the sharing of child sexual material or CSAM through online communication platforms. He further said that the number of reports from the public to the hotline was increasing.
