Thai man arrested for tricking young girls into porn production
Police arrested a Thai man for tricking young girls into producing pornography and selling the explicit content online, the youngest being 12 years old. A monk and a government official were found to be regular customers of the suspect.
The Royal Thai Police (RTP) and Chiang Mai Provincial Police held a press conference yesterday, August 5, to report the successful arrest of 20 year old university student, Paramate Manikaew, who produced and sold child pornography online.
Paramate was arrested at his home in the Mae Ta district of the northern province of Lamphun on June 12. His arrest followed the discovery of explicit videos he sold on a Telegram account, @aiestickv2. Each customer had to pay Paramate a membership fee of 120 baht to access his account and the pornographic content.
The pornography on his account featured 12 victims aged between 12 and 22 years old. Police have identified only six of them and will provide further care, both physically and mentally, to all the victims.
Paramate confessed to his criminal act and explained that he used dating apps and his attractive appearance to lure victims. After talking to each victim for a while, Paramate would invite them to his home.
Paramate usually invited victims under the guise of modelling, joining a singing audition, or playing an online game. He would then coerce them into sexual activities and secretly record videos of the victims. Paramate sometimes tricked victims into sharing explicit pictures and videos with him, which he then sold.
Officers further investigated Paramate’s customers from over 100 Telegram accounts that followed his account. Police arrested two of them, a monk and a government official, and will continue to arrest more relevant individuals.
Officers did not reveal the details of the legal charges and punishment against Paramate. However, following previous cases, Paramate is likely to be charged under Section 287/1 of the Criminal Law: possession and distribution of child pornography. The penalty is imprisonment of up to seven years, a fine of up to 140,000 baht, or both.
