Chasing a Sexually Exploitative Content Distributor Led to... an Active-Duty Police Officer with 5,600 Videos

An active-duty police officer who created and shared sexually exploitative content using artificial intelligence (AI) in a Telegram chat room has been caught and arrested.

He was caught by investigators who infiltrated the Telegram chat room to investigate distributors of sexually exploitative content.

The Seoul Dongdaemun Police Station announced today (October 4) that Police Inspector A, assigned to the traffic division, was arrested last month on charges of possessing, producing, and sharing sexual and fabricated videos last month.

In December of last year, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency obtained permission from the court to conduct an undercover investigation to investigate a Telegram chat room where fabricated videos were being distributed.

Undercover investigations were introduced following the revision of the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sex Crimes in September 2021, triggered by the "Nth Room" and "Baksa Room" cases, and since June of last year, they can also be applied to digital sex crimes against adults based on the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes.

Investigators, who infiltrated the chat room while hiding their identities and tracked the crimes, identified the distributor of illegal videos after months of tracking.

However, upon verifying his identity, it turned out he was an active-duty police officer working in the traffic division of the Seoul Dongdaemun Police Station.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency conducted a search and seizure on Police Inspector A last August, securing mobile phones and computers.

During the analysis of the seized items, it was reported that more than 5,600 videos were found, including 2,600 fabricated videos, 1,600 sexual exploitative videos of children and adolescents, and 1,300 illegally filmed videos possessed by Police Inspector A.

Police Inspector A is also suspected of not only collecting illegal videos but also directly producing and distributing them.

It was reported that from March 2022 to July of last year, he spent over four years creating about 400 fabricated videos depicting acquaintances naked using an AI app, and also produced illegally filmed videos secretly capturing women's bodies.

It was also found that he distributed dozens of such fabricated videos in a Telegram chat room from August of last year to April of last year.

Police Inspector A joined the police force in December 2023, meaning he continued his crimes for nearly three years even after donning the police uniform.

It is reported that as the police investigation gained momentum, Police Inspector A confessed to his crimes.

The Seoul Dongdaemun Police Station stated, "In August, a notice to initiate an investigation into Police Inspector A was issued, leading to his suspension from duty, and he was subsequently relieved of his position following his arrest."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.