Thai photographer arrested for possession of child porn
Published date: Tue, 03 Sep 2024 16:22:59 +0700
A Thai photographer was arrested for allegedly possessing thousands of files of child pornography.
Kraisorn, 28, reportedly uploaded a huge number of obscene files featuring children and minors to a popular cloud storage site. Authorities traced the user's e-mail account to an individual residing in Thailand.
The Thailand Internet Crimes Against Children (TICAC) Task Force, acting on a tip-off from US-based nonprofit National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, launched an investigation and identified the suspect as Kraisorn. They gathered evidence and obtained an arrest warrant from the Samut Sakhon Provincial Court.
TICAC commissioner Police Colonel Rungrert Khantachan led a team to arrest Kraisorn at his home in Samut Sakhon province on August 31.
Officers seized the man's iPhone and an external hard drive said to contain some 4,000 files of child pornography. He was also found to be part of a child porn group on the mobile communication app 'Band'.
Kraisorn was charged under Thai Criminal Code Section 287/1 for possession of child pornography. The offense carries a penalty of five years in jail, a fine of up to 100,000 THB (2,226 GBP), or both. The punishment is heavier at seven years in jail and a fine of up to 140,000 THB (3,116 GBP) if the offender has forward the child porn to someone else.
Kraisorn allegedly admitted the charge but denied taking any inappropriate photos of children. He claimed he worked as a general cosplay photographer.
The TICAC chief said: 'The suspect admitted to all charges. He testified that he had no full-time job but worked as a photographer for regular cosplayers and has never taken jobs involving children.
‘However, he said he has a sexual fetish for watching child pornography, so he collected these videos for personal use. He said he never shared or sold them.
'We will be inspecting all of his devices. If we find any evidence of him deceiving children to create or sell child porn, we will file additional charges.'
