The founder of an adult website linked to a gang rape trial in France faces charges

France on Thursday charged the founder of an adult website used to commit sex crimes, including by a French man Who recruited dozens of strangers to He raped his heavily drugged wifeProsecutors said.

Isaac Steidel, founder and director of Coco.fr, has been charged with crimes including running an online platform to facilitate an illegal transaction by an organized gang, following his arrest on Tuesday.

The anonymous platform was closed by French authorities in June 2024.

They say the site has been used to commit numerous sexual crimes such as child sexual abuse and rape, as well as murder.

They also said it was enabled Dominique Bellicot to recruit dozens of strangers to rape his heavily drugged wife from 2011 to 2020. Bellicot was given the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while the other defendants received sentences ranging from three to 15 years.

Bellicott spoke to potential attackers in the site’s chat room under the name “A son insu” (without their knowledge). He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in December after a trial that upended his now ex-wife Giselle Bellicot To a feminist icon.

Prosecutors said that Steidl, an Italian citizen, was placed under judicial supervision, required to pay bail of 100,000 euros and banned from leaving the country.

The 44-year-old was charged with complicity in drug trafficking, possession and distribution of child pornography, corruption of minors via the Internet, as well as aggravated money laundering, and operating an online platform to facilitate an illegal transaction. By an organized gang

“Large of predators”

Many crimes are punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The site’s closure came after numerous warnings from associations about the danger posed by the site, which was called “a den of predators.” It was recorded on the Channel Island of Guernsey.

This online chat site does not require any registration and allows its users to remain anonymous.

Steidel had already been interrogated in Bulgaria last June.

Interviews were conducted in France with three of his relatives, who are suspected of playing a role in managing the platform or benefiting from the crimes.

A police source told AFP that at the end of July 2024, two of the site’s managers were arrested in France.

“In total, more than 23,000 acts committed by Coco have been reported,” Paris prosecutor Laure Bequiau said.

Prosecutors said more than 5 million euros linked to bank accounts in Hungary, Lithuania, Germany and the Netherlands were seized.

Fifty defendants – The men who responded to Dominique Bellicot’s online invitation – were also convicted.

The details of the crimes shocked France and the world, drawing new attention to male violence. The impact of the trial was amplified by the decision of Gisèle Bellicot Waiver of anonymity Choosing a public trial.

She said she wanted the proceedings to be public in the hope that “all women victims of rape will be able to say to themselves: ‘Madame Bellicot did it,’ so we can do it.”

“I don’t want them to feel ashamed anymore,” she said. “It is not our right to feel ashamed, it is their (sexual attackers) right.” “Above all, I am expressing my will and determination to change this society.”

According to a study he conducted Public Policy InstituteOnly 14% of rape accusations in France lead to formal investigations.