He stole photos of friends and acquaintances from their social media profiles and, without their consent, uploaded them to a porn site, complete with their names and surnames. The images of 25 young and very young girls, captured at the beach or in everyday situations, were combined with lewd images. A 23-year-old man living in the Milan area was searched for this reason in recent days by the Carabinieri of San Donato.
The Prosecutor's Office is investigating him for unauthorized access to a computer system, aggravated defamation through the use of computer media, and violation of privacy. The investigation was opened following complaints filed by a group of young women, roughly the same age as the suspect and living in the municipalities surrounding the Lombardy capital, who unknowingly found themselves among the subjects of a pornographic website. The images, all from 2024, one of which was of a girl who was a minor at the time, were those they had posted on their Instagram pages. Memories of leisure activities, carefree vacations, or anniversaries, which were allegedly stolen without their consent. Having been "placed in an unfamiliar and degrading context, in some cases even paired with sexually explicit videos," was a "serious" offense, the prosecutor writes in the investigation documents, which "offended" and violated the "privacy" and "dignity" of the victims.
As soon as the young women discovered what was circulating online, they tracked down the person who stole the photos—which had nothing to do with pornography—through a series of checks, comparing their social media profiles, and analyzing their shared followers. The perpetrator was a common contact on their social media accounts, who had illegally hacked them. Subsequent investigations by investigators confirmed their initial suspicions. Searches were then launched against the 23-year-old, who demonstrated "the computer skills to operate undisturbed and maintain anonymity."
In addition to a significant amount of paper material, the young man's computers and telephone were seized to gather evidence useful for reconstructing the facts and determining the related responsibilities.
