Pingtung man indicted for child pornography

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) A Pingtung man has been indicted after he was arrested and held incommunicado for luring minors into producing explicit photos and videos of themselves, the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office said Thursday.

In a statement, the office said the 27-year-old man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), has been detained and indicted for committing 31 sexual offenses against 26 minors.

The case was brought to light after one of the victims reported to police what had happened. Tsai's place was subsequently raided twice earlier this year and cellphones and computers containing explicit photos of the victims were seized, the office said.

The prosecutor's investigation found that Tsai sought to make friends with young children and teenagers on social media apps including Line, Facebook, Discord and Instagram between 2017 and 2024.

While chatting with them, Tsai would persuade the victims to take explicit photos or videos of themselves and ask them to send him the images by offering them "points" that could be used on game platforms, prosecutors said.

In addition, photos of Tsai having sex with boys under the age of 14 or engaging in other obscene acts were discovered on his cellphone. Prosecutors said this was proof Tsai had violated the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act and the Criminal Code.

Tai was arrested in August and has remained in detention and is being held incommunicado, prosecutors said, adding that the case was handed over to the local district court on Wednesday.

Prosecutors said they have asked the court to punish Tsai severely for the harm he caused the victims.