A 35-year-old Dutchman has been detained as he allegedly made money from operating so-called “Exposed” groups on the communications platform Telegram. Exposed groups are groups in which nude photographs, usually not of the group members themselves but of young women and girls, are shared. In the groups operated by the suspect, photos were also shared of women from Belgium.
Dutchman detained for operating “Exposed” groups on Telegram used photographs of Belgian women
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In 2022 the VRT radio station Studio Brussels’ online series ‘Faqda’ examined the issue of online hate. It showed how VRT News journalists were investigating “Exposed” groups on the messaging service Telegram. It was shown how such groups engage in the large-scale distribution of naked photographs, mainly of young women. One group had almost 100,000 members. After the broadcast, the Antwerp prosecutors’ office opened an investigation and this has now led to a 35-year-old Dutch national being detained.
Kristof Aerts of the Antwerp prosecutor’s office told VRT News that "We first managed to finally take the groups offline. Then our investigation took us to the Netherlands where we conducted several searches on 10 December this year”.
“Eventually, this also led to the arrest of a 35-year-old Dutchman of Turkish descent. He managed several Exposed groups and even turned them into a source of income. Anyone who wanted access to a group had to pay 50 euros”
The man is suspected of inciting people to distribute nude images without permission and the distribution material featuring child abuse. The suspect was questioned but has not been arrested or handed over by the Dutch to the Belgian judicial authorities.
Online hate
Many images in these groups are distributed without the consent of the girls and young women featured. However, it doesn’t stop there as the girls and young women also often become victims of online hate.
Kristof Aerts told VRT News that there are some cases of victims having been physically threatened. The groups were taken offline in 2023. This was not easy to achieve as given Telegram’s “anything goes” policy. Kristof Aerts stresses the importance that people continue to report this kind of thing.
‘People are often under the impression that nothing can be done, but our investigation shows that something can be done”.