Finn suspected of abusing hundreds of children online

A Finnish man is suspected of committing sex crimes against more than 200 children on video chat platform Omegle and other social media, Finnish police said on Tuesday.

He is suspected of contacting “more than 200 minors” aged six to 15 across Finland via video chat, most of them girls, and asking them to “dress scantily and perform sexual acts” in front of the web camera, police said.

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The man in his 30s, whose name has not been disclosed, has been in custody since April, accused of aggravated sexual assault against children, sexual exploitation of children and grooming.

His initial contacts with the alleged victims were on Omegle and, in some cases, then continued on other social media platforms, police said.

Because the children were able to access Omegle anonymously at the time, police are struggling to identify them.

“There are still 177 unidentified victims,” said chief investigator Petri Lamppu of the Southwestern Finland police department.

Lamppu asked for parents and guardians to come forward if they suspected their children could have been victims of the alleged abuse, which police said occurred in 2022 and 2023.

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“This is crime on a large scale,” he said.

Police said sexual harassment and abuse was widespread on Omegle.

“Children can also fall victim via other applications, such as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Discord or Random”, they said, reminding parents to supervise children’s use of social media.

© Agence France-Presse