Skype predator arraigned for child pornography offences

A 26 year-old Żebbuġ man has been charged with child pornography offences after he fell for an internet prankster’s video call, during the course of which the prankster had pretended to be a 13-year-old girl willing to participate in cybersex.

Inspector Joseph Busuttil arraigned Christian Coleiro before Magistrate Ian Farrugia this morning, charging him with possessing and distributing child pornography.

A clip of the Skype conversation and video call had been uploaded to a Facebook page belonging to “Mr Technical Difficult”, run by an American prankster who goes by that name online.

The caller had posed as a 13-year-old girl who was willing to disrobe during a chat on Skype. “Great,” Coleiro had replied, but then ended the call when the prankster switched his own web cam on, realising that he had been deceived .

Coleiro’s lawyers, Toni Abela and Maria Karlsson, requested the court impose a blanket ban on proceedings, however the magistrate chose to limit it to the submissions made in court.

The court granted the accused bail against a €500 deposit and a personal guarantee of €2,000.