Police arrest Telegram admin accused of running child abuse content group

Police arrested a Telegram administrator accused of running a child abuse content group in Thailand.

The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau detained the 29-year-old man during a child pornography crackdown in Si Sa Ket province on July 13.

The investigation began following complaints about a Telegram group called 'Show Wife' that allegedly posted pornographic teasers to entice members to buy full videos.

The group reportedly contained child pornography, including footage depicting 'sleep rape' and voyeuristic content.

Investigators gathered evidence before identifying the group admin, who received the payments.

Acting on a search warrant, Police Lieutenant Colonel Thanapongpat Onchuhemarat of the High-Tech Crime Division led officers to the suspect's house.

Officers seized a green Xiaomi 14T mobile phone but the device did not have the Telegram application installed.

The suspect allegedly admitted that he regularly deleted and reinstalled the application two to three times each month 'to check for new access requests to the group'.

He reportedly said: 'I was scared my girlfriend would find out that I was secretly running a child pornography group and that I was uploading our sex videos for money.'

Officers ordered him to reinstall the application and confirmed he was running the Telegram group. They also examined his bank account, which received payments from members.

The admin was charged with importing obscene computer data into a computer system accessible to the public, possessing and distributing child pornography material, and distributing child pornography material for commercial purposes.

The police boss said the suspect was detained as investigations continue into the child sex abuse group.

He said: 'We have taken the suspect into custody and will continue investigating any related offences.'