The leader of a Telegram sex crime ring which facilitated the exchange of thousands of sexual abuse materials has been sentenced to life imprisonment in South Korea.
Kim Nok-wan, 33, was the head of the so-called Vigilantes: a large-scale, pyramid-style group that blackmailed victims into producing explicit content and sharing it in online chatrooms.
Between May 2020 and January 2025, the Vigilantes exploited at least 261 individuals – the largest number of cybersex exploitation victims in South Korea's history.
Under the self-designated title of "pastor", Kim was found to have carried out systematic crimes including the sexual assault of minors and the distribution of images that show child sex abuse.
He was sentenced on Monday after being convicted for organising and operating a criminal organisation, producing and distributing sexually exploitative and illegally filmed material, forcing the use of illegally filmed material, and "quasi-rape" or sexual assault where the victim was unable to resist.
