JAKARTA: Two videos of children being molested by their mothers have been making the rounds online in Indonesia, sparking shock and outrage among netizens while shining the spotlight on sextortion in the country.
The videos were taken last year, but only became viral and a trending topic on social media last week after they emerged on platforms such as X and TikTok.
Police have arrested the two suspects, both in their 20s, who claim to be victims of sextortion. They were allegedly approached on Facebook by a user “Icha Khalisa” in 2023 who promised them payment if they sent over nude photos of themselves.
According to the women, after doing so, the user then demanded that they record videos of them sexually abusing their children and to send the clips over, or else the nudes would be circulated on social media.
Indonesian police published details of the cases on Jun 3. In one case in South Tangerang, the mother – whom the police referred to as R – claimed she was forced to record herself sexually abusing her five-year-old son.
The Facebook user had offered payment of 15 million rupiah (US$920) in exchange while also threatening to circulate her nude photos online if she failed to record and send over the video.
“Because she felt threatened, R finally committed sexual abuse and did bad things. Then, it was recorded which then went viral,” said Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Police spokesperson Ade Ary Syam Indradi as quoted by Detik.
The video was recorded and sent by R, but she never received the payment. Instead, a year later, the video became viral on social media.
According to the police, a mother in Bekasi, referred to as AK, molested her 10-year-old son under similar circumstances. The incident was recorded and sent to the same Facebook account in December 2023, and the video went viral this month as well.
Both R and AK are suspected of breaking multiple laws concerning pornography and child protection. If charged and found guilty, they face up to 12 years in prison.
Indonesian police say they have tracked down the owner of the “Icha Khalisa” Facebook account, but it turns out the account was hacked by someone who is still at large, and the owner claims to be a victim of extortion like R and AK.
