A teen was taken into police custody in New Taipei City yesterday for allegedly using online chat app BeeTalk to entice high-school girls to pose for racy pictures and then threatening to expose the victims unless they had sex with him.
Police alleged that the 17-year-old surnamed Wang (王) is a repeat offender, saying he had used social media to commit sexual crimes against three underage girls last year.
Wang used the same method to chat and make friends on BeeTalk, persuading a female high-school student to pose for pictures in various stages of undress and then making threats against the girl, police said.
The victim reported the incident to police last week, when Wang asked her to meet him, intending to force her into having sex with him.
At the agreed location, Wang was taken by police officers to a precinct for questioning.
Police said Wang was apprehended three times last year for sexual assault, but since he is underage, a juvenile court released him into the protective custody of his parents.
His contemptuous behavior and his mother’s attitude riled police officers, as Wang allegedly told them: “My family will take care of it. I won’t have to serve time in jail.”
When the mother arrived at the police precinct, the mother allegedly told police officials: “Why are you frowning at my son? It was not a serious crime, it was not like he committed murder or arson.”
Police said Wang would be charged with blackmail and sexual offenses, and since he is a repeat offender, prosecutors would request that the judge hand down the severest punishment possible.
In a related case, police in Tainan took a 26-year-old man surnamed Tang (湯) into custody over the weekend after he allegedly used a similar method to force female students to have sex with him.
Tang is accused of posing as a rich businessman looking for a “paid girlfriend” for regular sex by offering NT$50,000 a month.
Police said the money was just a lure, as Tang forced his victims to have sex with him, without paying them.
Since August last year, there have been eight victims, ranging from high-school students to college students, police said.
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