On 23 January 2023 a 12-member federal jury in the state of Florida, USA, found a Bulgarian citizen guilty in a case of participating in a criminal group for taking, promoting and distributing photographs and videos with pornographic content in which children were involved. In April this year a Federal District Court judge will render the sentence, which under the national law is from 15 to 50 years in prison.
49-year-old P.V. was detained in November 2021 in Bulgaria in the course of an international operation against distribution of child pornography with the participation of US Department of Justice, US Department of Homeland Security, National Investigation Service and the Supreme Court of Cassation. At the request of American authorities, the Bulgarian citizen was extradited to the USA, where he was investigated for crimes committed jointly with five other persons.
During the criminal trial on January 19, 2023 with regard to the procedural actions, carried out on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, and the legal assistance provided, the investigator from the National Investigation Service Chavdar Angelov testified at the trial. Svetoslav Vasilev, Head of "Cyber Crimes" Department at the National Investigation Service, also participated in the investigation.
A communication of the US Department of Justice highlighted the good cooperation and contribution of investigators from the National Investigation Service and prosecutors from the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor’s Office, as well as the authorities of the Netherlands, related to the successfully uncovering the child pornography network and bringing the involved in the criminal group to justice.
The Bulgarian citizen P.V. was found guilty of two counts – participating in a criminal group for advertising of visual images of minors showing explicit sexual behavior as well as their distribution. According to the evidence presented in the trial, P.V. was the administrator of an Internet site generating pornographic content with minors. Members of the US-based internet business enticed boys and girls under the age of 18, including minors, to be used as "child models".
More than 4.6 million images, photos and videos of children, some apparently between the ages of 6 and 10, captured in sexual and provocative poses were uploaded to the site. The victims were mainly from Ukraine, Moldova and other Eastern European countries.
Citizens of over 100 countries, including Bulgaria were subscribers and users of the websites. Some of the content was publicly available, but a paid subscription was also offered. As a result, revenues of nearly 9.5 million dollars were generated, and $434,000 was transferred on the bank accounts of P.V. In order to legalize the financial means, the participants in the criminal group registered a fictitious company for trade in jewelry.
Communication of the US Department of Justice:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/bulgarian-national-convicted-child-pornography-trafficking-conspiracy