CNN
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According to the French Conservation Agency, 55 men from all over France were arrested Monday through Thursday morning as part of a massive operation.
The suspect, ages 25 to 75, is accused of exchanging messages over a telegram with a “very dangerous” child sex offender who was jailed in the summer of 2024 and rescued after the child was abused, Oumin’s operations director told CNN on Thursday.
“All of these 55 individuals exchanged CSAM images (child sexual abuse material) with dangerous pedophiles, so there was digital evidence hinting at all of them,” Bevan says.
Bevan said the arrest was “the result of a 10-month investigation.”
“This was a major research and penetration project within this telegram group,” Bevan said. “We had to follow the exchange, analyze and identify pseudonyms of these telegrams, especially those who gave birth to children, those who had criminal history and worked in sensitive occupations that involved contact with children.”
Beban said men come from all ages and backgrounds: father, civil servants, military personnel, paramedics. In France, possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material is punished by a five-year prison sentence and a fine of 100,000 euros ($112,747).
CNN contacted the telegram for comments on the arrest. This is not the first well-known case of French platforms involved. In August 2024, Telegram founder Pavel Durov was detained at Burgette Airport in Paris on a warrant related to Telegram’s moderation policy.
French authorities charged Doloff on August 28, 2024 with several charges, including money laundering and spreading child sexual abuse. Durov, in a statement shortly afterwards, promised to improve moderation on the app, and said that authorities held him as “personally responsible for the illegal use of telegrams by others.”
