The 'Free Fire' Sexual Offender Collected Videos of Victims

TheIndonesia.co - The National Police’s Cyber Crime Directorate said suspect in child sexual abuse case who carried out his crime via popular online game Free Fire collected sexually-explicit videos from his victims for ‘personal use’.

Head of Sub Directorate I of the Cyber Crime Directorate of the Criminal Investigation Unit Pol. Grand Commissioner Reinhard Hutagaol said based on ongoing investigation, there has been no indication that 21-year-old suspect S sold the videos to other parties.

“As of now, [it suggests] personal use,” Hutagaol said on Wednesday, December 1, 2021.

As reported, the National Police arrested a man on allegation of child sexual abuse, and has identified 11 children as the victims. Suspect S used the popular online game Free Fire to lure his victims.

“S committed child sexual abuse by using online game Free Fire, where he targeted underage girls,” Hutagaol revealed in Jakarta on Tuesday, November 30.

Investigation into this case started after the Indonesian Child Protection Commission, or KPAI, received a report from one of the victims’ parents from Papua. They reported pornographic content on their kid’s phone as well as sexual conversations though messaging application WhatsApp, between with their child and S.

KPAI then made a police report on September 22, and the Cyber Crime Directorate started investigation and found suspect’s location in East Kalimantan.

As for the modus operandi, suspect played the online game and promised to give victims 500 to 600 diamonds, which are used in the game as a premium medium of exchange to optimize player’s character and performance.

In return, S would ask victims to exchange WhatsApp contact and ask them to send sexually explicit videos.

“Suspect would send pornographic videos to victims and ask them to send their pornographic pictures and videos,” Hutagaol explained.

In addition to that, A also forced his victims for video call sex (VCS) through the messaging platform. He threatened to erase victims’ game account if they refused to do so.

He is charged with three laws; Child Protection Law, Pornography Law, and Electronic Information and Transaction Law. He will face a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment or Rp5 billion fine.

The National Police’s spokesperson Chief Commissioner Ahmad Ramadhan added that this case is a reminder for parents to put extra care in monitoring their children’s online activities.

“This is a warning for parents to protect their children by increasing their supervision to prevent them from falling victim [into this type of crime],” Ramadhan said.