Digital sexual exploitation targeting teenage female students, this time the 17-year-old mastermind operates 'Pandora'

A digital sexual exploiter targeting only teenage female students has been apprehended once again. This marks at least the fourth instance revealed following the N-Bang, Doctor's Room, and Pastor's Room cases.

The social shock is even greater this time as the main suspect, who planned all the crimes and disguised the victims as accomplices, is only 17 years old.

According to the cyber crime investigation team of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on the 29th, a 17-year-old named A used nicknames such as 'Pandora' and 'Daijin' to approach victims expressing sexual curiosity on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

He lured victims to Telegram by inducing sexual conversations or deceiving them into believing that deepfake videos were being disseminated.

A would demand personal information such as names and school names, and exposed photographs, believing that the victims would comply with his threats.

Once the victims succumbed to these demands, the 'real horror' began. A threatened to distribute the gathered materials to the victims' families and acquaintances and demanded the production of more intense sexual exploitative materials, sometimes resorting to extortion or attempting sexual encounters.

Methods evolved beyond the 'Pastor's Room' to make victims accomplices

A's methods of committing crimes became increasingly malicious. He instructed victims to look for other targets, saying, "If you fill the number of five, I will release you." This resembles the crimes of Kim Nok-wan, who was apprehended while operating the 'Pastor's Room.'

The known victims A lured as accomplices include at least three girls, including B (16).

A was more meticulous than Kim Nok-wan. The police reported that he used a more evolved strategy where if a victim lured another victim, he would deceive them into believing he was a third victim and instruct them to share the materials.

A was transferred to the prosecution while in custody, facing charges (violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sexual Abuse) for producing 34 sexual exploitative materials, unlawfully filming 81 incidents, and possessing 1,832 false videos including deepfakes targeting 19 teenage female victims such as first-year middle school students from July to September last year.

Three teenage accomplices are also under investigation by the police, and there is a possibility that more victims may emerge.

A reportedly pleaded for leniency, claiming, "It was a sexual curiosity," and "I couldn't stop myself, and there was no one to stop me."

Shocking crimes targeting mother-in-law and niece

A group that illegally filmed sexual encounters to profit was also caught by the police. C (33) and D (28) were arrested for filming and selling sexual encounter scenes of female victims illegally 1,584 times from September 2023 to December last year.

D filmed scenes of sexual encounters with women in an officetel using a hidden camera disguised as a fire detector, while C uploaded these to a paid subscription site to sell them.

The police have completed the confiscation of 13 million won they earned over a period of about two months.

Two men in their 50s and 20s who operated as 'writers' on Telegram have been detained for producing and possessing deepfake videos of 182 victims including their mother-in-law, niece, and female colleagues over the past six years since 2019.

They are also revealed to have produced 46 sexual exploitative materials targeting children and teenagers.

The police have strengthened crackdowns on cyber sexual violence crimes, apprehending a total of 222 cyber sexual violence offenders and arresting 13 from August last year to March.

Efforts have been made to prevent secondary victimization by deleting and blocking victim materials, and support is being provided to victims in collaboration with the Seoul Digital Sexual Violence Support Center.

Image source: On the 29th, at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Lee Suk-young, head of the Cyber Investigation Unit 3 of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, is briefing on the apprehension of a total of 224 cyber sexual violence offenders including those involved in child and youth sexual exploitation / News1, reference photo for understanding of the article / gettyimagesbank