Special Police Unit to crack-down on Child Pornography

COLOMBO (News 1st): A special unit was established at the Children and Women Bureau in order to monitor pornographic video footage and photographs related to Children, Sri Lanka Police said. "The special unit named, 'National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children' will conduct surveillance in the cyberspace with the modern technology utilized to trace the individuals who upload such video footage and photographs related to child pornography, Police Spokesperson Senior DIG Ajith Rohana told News 1st on Thursday (Jul. 29). Accordingly, from the 17th of June to 28th July 2021, 17,629 video clips and photographs in this regard have been uploaded to cyberspace in Sri Lanka, he noted. "We are conducting a special investigation in respect of such criminal activity. Especially, if a person is circulating a video clip or photograph related to child pornography, it is an offence under the Sri Lankan Law under the Obscene Publications Act," Senior DIG Ajith Rohana elaborated. The Obscene Publications Act is related to sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, or any other offences in respect of children. "The perpetrators will be dealt with the particular law. The Police Children and Women Bureau and the Criminal Investigation Department are jointly conducting the investigations in this regard starting from today (29). We have deployed special police teams to trace the suspects," Senior DIG Ajith Rohana stressed. According to Senior DIG Ajith Rohana, people who had shared or forwarded such pornographic content will also be traced and legal action will be instituted against them as well. The Children and Women Bureau and the CID are jointly conducting investigations in this regard.