A fast track court convicted and sentenced a Dutch national to 10 years' Rigorous Imprisonment in a paedophilia case here on Thursday. Wilheums (58) was found guilty of uploading child pornographic pictures on the internet.
According to police sources, the Cyber Crime Cell of the Chennai Police, acting on a tip-off given by the Interpol, arrested Wilheums from a house at Choolaimedu in November 2009. Computer hard disk, data storage devices and other electronic gadgets were seized from the scene of the crime.
Pictures of the accused indulging in sexual acts with children, which had been deleted from the hard disk, were retrieved using cyber forensic tools.
Besides material evidence, the police also produced victims who deposed before the trial court judge against Wilheums.
“This is the first time in the country that an accused charged under the provisions of Section 67 (B) (uploading child pornographic pictures) of the Information Technology Act (amended) 2008 has been convicted,” Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Crime Branch) M. Sudhakar told The Hindu .
As part of the material evidence, police produced details of a broadband connectivity of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) used by the accused to access internet and upload the pictures.
“The Dutch national lured the children into the trap by offering them foreign chocolates and video games. Based on the Interpol alert, we tracked the Internet Protocol address to a small house at Choolaimedu. The team of investigators worked under the direct supervision of the Police Commissioner J.K. Tripathy,” Dr. Sudhakar said.
Fourth Fast Track Court judge Anbalagan, who heard the case, sentenced Wilheums to 10 years' RI under Section 367 (kidnapping) and another 10 years' RI under Section 377 (unnatural offence) of the IPC. He was sentenced to five years' RI under the provisions of the IT Act. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently, the sources said. Soon after the judgment was pronounced, police took custody of the accused. He was lodged in Puzhal Central Prison on Thursday evening.
