Man behind ‘den of predators’ site that enabled mass rape of Gisèle Pelicot arrested
The man behind the anonymous website used by the ‘Monster of Avignon’ to recruit dozens of men to rape Gisèle Pelicot was arrested in Paris.
Rapists and paedophiles lurked in the chatrooms of Coco.fr, openly sharing and discussing the depravity of their sexual abuse without persecution for years.
Dubbed the ‘den of predators,’ the platform had been used in about 23,000 crimes including murder.
It was free and used a simple interface, allowing users to communicate anonymously. It received almost 800,000 visits every month.
Coco.fr, which was not on the dark web, was shut down by authorities in June last year.
The Paris prosecutor’s office announced said it was ‘known for many years as a facilitator of the commission of various offenses, including acts of pedocriminality, pimping, prostitution, rape, sale of narcotics, ambushes, and even homicide.’
Founder Isaac Steidl was detained on Tuesday as part of an investigation into pimping, money laundering, child pornography and murder.
France Info radio said the 44-year-old reported to Paris police after being summoned from his home outside the country and agreeing to fly back to the capital.
According to French law, Steidl can be held for questioning for up to 96 hours.
His website hit the headlines after it was revealed that Dominique Pelicot, 72, had used s chatroom called ‘A son insu’ (without their knowledge) to recruit more than 80 men to rape and sexually abuse his unconscious wife.
Of them, only 50 stood trial, and all but one were convicted of rape by the court in Avignon in December.
During his testimony, Pelicot stressed that the responsibility for the rapes should be shared among the accused, saying: ‘I am a rapist just like all the others in this room.’
The website was created in 2003 by Steidl with the help of his parents, who invested €2,000 in the endeavour after graduating as a computer engineer, according to local media.
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