National Police agents dismantled a criminal network operating in 2020 that involved production, distribution and ownership of illegal material. The operation led to the death of 27 people and identified a high risk offender described by authorities as a dangerous sexual predator. The suspect was accused of more than a hundred crimes including grooming and virtual harassment of minors. He operated from his home in Fuenlabrada, a town near Madrid, and used social networks popular with young people to carry out his crimes.
During the operation, police conducted searches at 26 residences across the country. They seized a large volume of digital evidence including 57 hard disks, 15 computers, 16 USB drives, 3 tablets, 4 mobile phones and multiple storage devices. Law enforcement officials estimated that thousands of files containing child pornography were involved in the case.
The investigation began at the start of 2020 when the Central Cybercrime Unit, along with 14 regional units, coordinated efforts. Officers confirmed that the offender relied on anonymity techniques to hide the identities of other users and to shield the operation from detection for as long as possible. The lengthy probe was necessary to uncover the true identities behind the accounts and to map the network involved in the exploitation.
One of the principal targets discovered in the course of the inquiry was a man operating from his home in Fuenlabrada who used a persona of a dangerous sexual predator. He engaged with young people on social networks that are widely used by teenagers and crafted a large scheme to entrap them online. The authorities indicated that several fake accounts were created in the name of a young woman, and these accounts served as bait to lure minors into conversations that could lead to exploitation.
Significant behavioral patterns emerged from the seized data. More than 380 conversations were identified on the suspect’s profiles, initiated by accounts that appeared to be underage. A careful review confirmed the sexual intentions behind many of these exchanges, underscoring the calculated nature of the offender’s actions online and the risk posed to young users.
As the investigation progressed, authorities analyzed over 47,000 messages and 688 photographic and video files shared on the social platform. The review revealed that 109 of the conversations involved minors aged between 10 and 16, with the offender clearly aware of their ages. The case also showed that the arrested individual recorded some conversations for later use and stored sexual files involving other minors on his devices to extend the reach of his abuse and to recruit more victims. The material and records uncovered by the operation were organized into specific digital folders to facilitate ongoing investigations and potential future prosecutions.