The state police of the Operational Center for Cyber Security for Calabria, under the coordination of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Reggio Calabria, has carried out a precautionary custody order in prison against a 39-year-old man from Reggio Calabria, accused of a long series of crimes committed against young women.
The investigations, complex and conducted with advanced IT techniques, made it possible to reconstruct a complex picture of online persecutory behaviour. Through the acquisition and cross-referencing of numerous digital data, investigators identified the man, against whom a search warrant had initially been issued. During the activity, in light of the serious clues that emerged, the Judge for Preliminary Investigations then ordered the precautionary measure in prison, at the urgent request of the prosecuting Public Prosecutor.
Without prejudice to the principle of innocence until a final sentence, the 39-year-old is held responsible for the crimes of stalking, revenge porn, harassment, abusive access to computer systems, illicit processing of personal data and private violence.
The investigations started from complaints presented by several young women, unknown to each other, who had in common the fact that they were victims of the so-called “deep fake” phenomenon. According to what has been reconstructed, the man would have taken common photos from the social profiles of the victims, then digitally manipulated them to make them look like nude images, subsequently disseminated or used as a tool of blackmail and coercion.
In some cases, the suspect would have maintained contact with the victims via chat, making requests for other intimate material, formulating threats and implementing actual persecutory behavior, such as to generate anxiety, fear and changes to their lifestyle habits in the offended parties.
The activity of the Cyber Police confirms the constant commitment to combating online crimes, in particular against growing phenomena such as revenge porn, digital stalking and web harassment, which have seen a worrying increase in recent years. In addition to identifying those responsible, it remains fundamental to protect and listen to the victims, who are often affected by serious psychological and social consequences.