France and US shut down platform that sold stolen intimate images of 17,000 women
Two brothers were arrested in France as the alleged administrators of NudeLeaksTeens, a website that sold images and videos obtained through hacking, grooming and non-consensual sharing. Some of the victims were minors.
A young man looks at a pornographic website on a smartphone (staged scene).
A coordinated operation between authorities in France and the United States led to the shutdown of three sites linked to the NudeLeaksTeens (NLT) platform, accused of selling intimate content stolen from more than 17,000 women of various nationalities, including minors.
The Paris Prosecutor's Office reported on Wednesday that two brothers, aged 21 and 25, were arrested on Tuesday in northern France on suspicion of being the alleged administrators of the platform. U.S. authorities also participated in the operation.
According to the investigation, NudeLeaksTeens operated through three websites that offered packages of intimate photos and videos obtained illegally.
Some of the content came from hacked social media accounts, while other material was reportedly obtained through grooming, a practice in which an adult contacts and manipulates a minor online for sexual purposes.
Images classified as so-called revenge porn—that is, intimate content shared without the affected person's consent—were also distributed.
Victims identified by name, age and place of residence
The platform's structure went beyond simply posting images.
According to the Paris Prosecutor's Office, users were incentivized with rewards in virtual currency to provide information that would allow each victim to be identified.
The women were listed with details such as their real name, age, place of residence and occupation. They were even rated on a scale of one to 10 based on their physical appearance, according to French authorities.
The investigation determined that the victims included women of various nationalities as well as minors.
Although the platform itself allegedly warned users against posting child sexual abuse material, U.S. authorities determined that sexually explicit images and videos of minors could also be found on the sites.
U.S. shuts down two domains
According to U.S. authorities cited by AFP, the domains promoted the sale of sexually explicit images and videos that had been leaked, hacked or stolen and featured young women and girls.
The action is part of federal efforts to combat child sexual exploitation and the non-consensual distribution of intimate content. The Department of Justice also maintains the Project Safe Childhood program, a federal initiative dedicated to investigating and prosecuting the sexual exploitation of minors online.
Nearly $800,000 in cryptocurrency
During searches conducted at the home of the two arrested brothers, French investigators seized approximately 700,000 euros (roughly $783,000) in cryptocurrency.
Among the seized assets were Bitcoin, Litecoin, USDT and Ethereum, according to the Paris Prosecutor's Office.
Authorities are now investigating the scope of the platform's activity and the origin of all distributed content, as well as the possible criminal liability of those arrested.
The shutdown of NudeLeaksTeens represents one of the largest recent operations against platforms dedicated to selling stolen intimate material, both in terms of the number of identified victims and the presence of minors among those affected.
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