25-Year-Old Leader Of Sex Abuse Ring On Telegram Has Been Sentenced To 40 Years In Prison
He led the blackmailing of at least 103 women, including 26 minors.
By Sadho Ram — 26 Nov 2020, 12:33 PM
Cho Ju-bin, a South Korean man, who ran the Nth Room, a sex slave chat room on Telegram, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison
The 25-year-old ran the massive pay-to-view digital pornography trafficking group called "Nth Room" on the Telegram app, where women were blackmailed into sharing sexual videos.
He was accused of sexual harassment. Many of the victims were minors.
According to BBC, at least 10,000 people used the chatrooms, with some paying up to USD1,200 (RM4,899) for access to one of the country's biggest online sex abuse rings.
He led the blackmailing of at least 103 women, including 26 minors.
A South Korean court found him guilty of running an online network, which the authorities described as "virtual enslavement"
The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Cho for violating criminal and child protection laws by making and releasing pornography and running a criminal organisation, Reuters reported via Yonhap.
"The defendant had lured and threatened multiple victims in various ways to produce pornography and distributed it for a long time to many. He in particular inflicted irrecoverable damage to many victims by publishing their identifies," Yonhap reported, citing the judge who handed down the verdict and sentence.
Cho Ju-bin photographed outside the police station earlier this year, wearing a neck brace.
Image via ReutersThe Nth room case garnered national attention in South Korea earlier this year. Following which, on 23 March, the Seoul Broadcasting System revealed the personal information of the suspect.
Initially, authorities in South Korea did not view the case as a credible one and ignored the reports.
However, following media reports and public fury that saw five million people signing petitions asking for his anonymity to be lifted, on 24 March, a police committee took the unusual step of naming Cho.
It was the first case where an official identity disclosure measure had been taken for a sexual criminal.
These Malaysian organisations aim to help survivors of rape and sexual assault:
1. WOMEN'S AID ORGANISATION (WAO)
Operating hours: 24-hour
Contact: +603-79563488
SMS/WhatsApp: +6018-9888058
Website | Facebook | Twitter
2. ALL WOMEN'S ACTION SOCIETY (AWAM)
Operating hours: Weekdays (9.30am - 4.30pm)
Contact: +603-78770224
WhatsApp: +6016-2284221 | +6016-2374221
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
3. WOMEN'S CENTRE FOR CHANGE PENANG (WCC PENANG)
Operating hours: Weekdays (9am - 5pm)
Contact: +604-2280342 | +604-3988340
WhatsApp: +6011-31084001 | +6016-4390698
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
4. SARAWAK WOMEN FOR WOMEN SOCIETY (SWWS)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9am to 5.30pm)
Contact: +6082-422660
SMS/WhatsApp: +6013-8044285
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
5. SABAH WOMEN'S ACTION-RESOURCE GROUP (SAWO)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9am to 2pm)
Contact: +6088-280200
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
6. PROTECT AND SAVE THE CHILDREN (PS THE CHILDREN)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (8.30am to 5.30pm)
Contact: +6016-2273065 | +6016-7213065
WhatsApp: +6016-7213065
Email: [email protected]
Website | Facebook | Twitter
7. INTERNET WATCH FOUNDATION (IWF)
Anonymously and confidentially report child sexual abuse content and non-photographic child sexual abuse images with IWF's Reporting Portal.
