Swiss police snare chat room paedophile
Posing as a 13-year-old girl, Zug police have caught a paedophile at work in an internet chat room.
Having created a profile for a fictitious 13-year-old girl, the police began to chat with the man over a three-week period, online news website 20 Minutes reported.
Finally the man arranged to meet the “girl” in Zug’s old town on Tuesday. Instead, he found the police authorities waiting for him there.
“The defendant expressed a desire to engage in sexual activity with the fictitious girl,” a police officer told 20 Minutes.
When interviewed, the man could not deny that he had had sexual intentions in his interaction with the girl.
Internet chat-rooms are a known haven for paedophiles. According to experts, it can take less than two minutes of chatting in such a space before coming into contact with a sexually motivated adult.
The use of undercover agents has only recently been permitted in Zug after a loophole in the law was finally closed in October 2011. The canton now has two dedicated officers working on the networks.
“Canton Zug closed the loophole very quickly,” said Christian Democratic Party member of parliament Barbara Schmid-Federer.
“Other cantons should follow suit.”
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