VIDEO: Man arrested in Tenerife distributing child sexual abuse material
A man has been arrested in Tenerife by the National Police as part of a major international investigation into the mass distribution of child sexual abuse material on the Dark Web.
The arrest followed years of monitoring the suspect, who had been under investigation since 2021.
The police have reported that the man’s online activity had escalated significantly in recent months, including the creation of new abusive content. By early 2025, he had shared over 50 files described as "extremely serious", causing the authorities to treat the case as a top priority.
His arrest came after investigators were able to link his anonymous online identity, active in TOR-encrypted forums and unregulated platforms hosted on Russian domains, to data from a messaging app.
Once they suspected he was living in Spain, efforts began to pinpoint his exact location, which ultimately led to them locating him in Tenerife. Officers reportedly caught the suspect, who is from Sweden, in the act of requesting and distributing illegal content.
During a search of his residence, police seized a laptop, two mobile phones, and two USB drives containing a large volume of illegal material. Investigators also found that he had used messaging apps to contact minors directly, soliciting explicit material from them.
His partner was also arrested, accused of having knowledge of and involvement in the criminal activities. She is now under investigation, and forensic analysis has revealed the presence of accounts linked to Dark Web portals, many of which are tied to international child abuse networks.
Authorities also confirmed that the suspect was involved in online groups linked to the MAP (Minor-Attracted Persons) movement, which tries to justify paedophilia using social messages and specific symbols.
Both of them have previous convictions. The man had already been prosecuted for similar offences in Sweden and Spain, including the abuse of a minor and the distribution of child sexual abuse material, while his partner has a criminal record for drug trafficking.
The police are encouraging the public to report any suspicious online behaviour anonymously through the "Contact Us" section on their official website, www.policia.es, where all tip-offs are handled in strict confidence by specialist units.
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