He trafficked minors on social media with the promise of money and gifts: 40-year-old in prison in Rome

He trafficked minors, hooked up on social media, promising money and gifts in exchange for sexual relations or sending sexually explicit photos and videos.

On charges of child prostitution, child pornography, possession of or access to child pornography, aggravated by having committed the act against minors under the age of 16, a 40-year-old man ended up in prison following the execution by the Carabinieri of an order issued by the investigating judge of Rome at the request of the prosecutor's office. Eight searches were carried out: some on other suspects in a state of freedom, others on the girls involved, almost all of whom were Italian.

The investigation by the Carabinieri of the Investigative Unit of via In Selci started in 2024 from the complaint of the parents of one of the victims, alarmed by some photos found in their daughter's cell phone.

The immediate investigations into the 14-year-old's telephone device made it possible to identify several chats of investigative interest on many messaging applications, including "Telegram", "WhatsApp" and "Signal", held with a person called "Sugar Daddy".

The investigations made it possible to ascertain that the man was having criminally relevant conversations, through various messaging channels and social applications, with other young girls.

The subsequent analysis of the electronic devices seized during the searches, as well as the interviews of the victims, which also took place in protected mode, made it possible to reconstruct all the phases through which the man - in a period between 2015 and 2025 - after having hooked up the young girls on social media or through word of mouth, gaining their trust, sometimes even for financial compensation, proposed encounters for sexual purposes or, alternatively, asked for self-produced films or photos to be sent. with clear sexual content.