New Delhi, Oct 10: A 29-year-old Indian man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Paris for his alleged involvement in an international criminal network that targeted vulnerable children in the U.S., Britain and Canada and coerced them into producing violent and sexual videos.
The child victims were recruited via the online platform Discord to become “slaves” to a group known as CVLT, according to the Associated Press which cited court documents.
At least three other members of the group have been arrested in the U.S.
Rohan Rane, one of the international online group’s leaders, was found guilty of sexual extortion and acts of torture against a minor, according to lawyer Hippolyte Marquetty, representing five U.S. victims.
The 20-year sentence was the maximum possible for the charges he faced.
Rane showed no reaction when the jury’s verdict was announced Friday night, according to those in the courtroom.
Judges had ordered the trial held behind closed doors in a rare move because the case involves abuse of children.
Following alerts from U.S. authorities, Rane was arrested by police in Antibes in southern France in 2021.
While he initially claimed the situation was a “misunderstanding,” court documents show that he later admitted to being the administrator of the Discord group and stated that he enjoyed watching violent videos, specifically those depicting murders, self-harm and corpses.
A lawyer for five U.S. victims, Hippolyte Marquetty, described “extremely damaging consequences for the victims; they have shattered lives.”
“What the victims expect from the court is a sentence that matches the severity of the actions,” Marquetty told The Associated Press.
“And a sentence that, in some way, also protects society a bit and says no, this is truly unacceptable, and prevents this man from being released immediately and potentially reoffending.”
Rane’s lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.
Rane, originally from the Indian city of Pune, was studying in France at the time. French authorities chose to complete criminal proceedings in France before considering extradition.
An examination of videos found on his computer and phone showed young girls engaging in self-harm on his orders, including carving the name “Rohan” or swastikas into their skin or damaging their genitals, according to the court documents. (NVI)
