Child porn behind rise in sexual abuse cases: SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has turned down a bail plea of a man arrested on the charge of sharing child pornographic content on Facebook.

Umer Khan approached the apex court seeking post-arrest bail.

A two-judge bench of the top court ruled that although the offence with which the petitioner has been charged does not fall within the prohibitory clause of Section 497 Cr.P.C. (non-bailable offences) but “the nature of accusation, its impact on the society and the material collected so far” merit no concession.

The court noted that it was the management of Facebook that contacted the Federal Investigating Agency and provided information against the petitioner, upon which the agency launched investigation against him.

The apex court said the mobile phone of the petitioner was seized and sent to a forensic lab that extracted “child pornographic videos and images” from his the device.

“We have noticed that one of the most alarming social evil prevailing in the society is child pornography. It has created a havoc in society as it contains a great threat to morality and the future of children,” read a three-page judgement authored by Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi.

“One of the reason for the rise of child abuse/rape cases is squarely because of child pornographic content. The concerns regarding child sexual abuse and exploitation have been prevailing in the society in the past also.”