A judicial source reported that the TikToker who was arrested on charges of harassment was luring children of various nationalities, Lebanese and Syrian, to a chalet in a coastal city, in exchange for simpleenticements. The arrested TikToker is considered one of the "celebrities" of the TikTok app and was involved with six other individuals in forming a professional gang engaged in drug trafficking and child sexual assault.
Earlier information indicated that the famous TikToker owns a men's haircut salon and was exposed by another famous influencer who was arrested just hours before him. Investigations into the case of the arrested network are still ongoing, suggesting that "we may be facing bigger scandals and revelations in the coming days that may be difficult to write or read about."
The General Directorate of Internal Security Forces - Public Relations Division stated that "in the context of the ongoing work conducted by the Internal Security Forces to combat all types of crimes, information was obtained by the Cyber Crime and Intellectual Property Protection Bureau in the Specialized Criminal Investigation Department of the Judicial Police Unit. Following complaints by several minors to the public prosecutor regarding sexual assaults and filming by members of one of the organized gangs, as well as forcing them to consume drugs in several hotels."
Lebanon has recorded an increase in cases of sexual violence against children between 2020 and 2022, with the percentage rising from 10 to 12% according to the Protection Association that deals with such cases. The recorded cases of violence this year were distributed between 46% for females and 54% for males. Lebanon experienced a shocking incident last summer involving the murder of a girl after her rape, which investigations revealed the involvement of her uncle in the crime amid silence from her mother and maternal relatives, igniting widespread outrage in the country. Additionally, a man in his fifties raped a five-year-old boy in September last year, in a crime that took place in the town of Hafil al-Azima in the northern district of Dinniyeh. Lebanese reports at that time stated that the perpetrator had been arrested by security forces and was said to be "suffering from mental disorders."
