(Trinidad Guardian) As they close in on a local pornography ring, investigating officers say they may have to subpoena an American-based company to retrieve the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of the perpetrators responsible for selling, sharing and viewing thousands of nude photographs of young women. IP addresses are specific to computers going online, and can be tracked not only by country but to the device itself.
Investigating officers at the Fraud Squad Unit (FSU) have taken the lead in the investigations into how nude and sexually explicit photos of 500 young women were leaked on social media on Wednesday.
T&T Guardian was told by a source at the FSU that the officers would also be supported by the Cyber Crime Unit.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the initial server for the website where the photographs were uploaded locally was recently changed to a new server based in the United States (US).
As a result of this information, officers will now have to go through Central Authority to subpoena the American-Based company, which has been identified as Digital Ocean Inc, for the IP addresses.
According to police sources, some of the girls were as young as 15 years old when they were photographed in the nude, others in their 20s.
Those photographs of the young women were being sold to porn sites, locally, regionally and internationally.
Police believe that this latest scandal is linked to a local pornography ring, which has been operating for about six years.
The T&T Guardian has been reliably informed that there are about 12 young men involved in the ring, most of whom are related. Some of the young men live in the Valsayn area, our source adds. The Guardian further understands that the mastermind is a well-known resident of the San Juan area.
Seducing, and gaining trust
The young men would befriend young women, including teenagers and UWI students and professionals. They’d initiate relationships, which would soon become physical. Once they’d gain the trust of their new girlfriends, they’d get them to take and share sexually explicit photos.
