site.bta12 Arrested This Year in Child Pornography Cases

So far in 2026, thirteen specialized law enforcement operations have been carried out and 12 people have been detained in connection with child pornography cases, the Cybercrime Directorate at Bulgaria’s General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDCOC) said on Tuesday.

During the period, nearly 3,000 files containing illegal content depicting child sexual exploitation have been removed. Among those identified as perpetrators is a foreign national with permanent residence in Bulgaria, as well as a pediatrician. The files were distributed via a popular social media application among teenagers, using a personal account with access limited to a small group of users.

By comparison, in 2025 authorities conducted 44 specialized operations, initiated 45 pretrial proceedings, and removed nearly 80,000 computer files.

GDCOC also reported that during an operation on April 16, under the supervision of the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office, a man was arrested for storing and distributing pornographic material involving minors. More than 6,000 images and over 300 videos were found on a mobile device. Investigations showed that the detainee had participated in groups distributing child sexual exploitation material and had been using popular mobile applications for sexual offenders under a false identity for nearly two years.

In April, GDCOC officers, together with colleagues from 38 countries, dismantled one of the world’s largest child pornography platforms, Kidflix. It was established that nearly two million users worldwide accessed the platform between April 2022 and March 2025.