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A Fijian man has been sentenced to a two-year, two-month, two-week jail sentence after being found guilty of sharing intimate photos and other media of a woman online – without her permission.
The arrest was made earlier in the year, with the Australian Federal Police assisting the Fiji Police Force’s cyber crime team.
The genesis of the investigation was a report from a Norfolk Island woman who had found explicit images of her being shared on Facebook’s messenger platform. She reported it to the Norfolk Island Police Force, which first identified the Fijian national.
The investigation was then referred to the FPF’s cyber crime team. Together with the FPF’s digital forensic team and AFP officers based in-country, the cyber crime team was able to further analyse the evidence, leading to a search warrant being executed at the man’s home.
Electronic devices and “additional evidence of the offending” were seized, and the man was arrested.
Detective Corporal Joni Naitini of the FPF cyber crime team was presented with a certificate of recognition by the AFP for his work on the case. Juki Fong Chew, Fiji’s acting Commissioner of Police, was pleased with the cooperation shown in the case.
“The AFP, since the establishment of Fiji’s cyber crime unit in 2007, has remained committed to our partnership through the various capacity-building programs, technical support, the provision of equipment and ongoing mentoring support to our cyber crime officers,” acting Commissioner Chew said in a statement.
“We are grateful to have AFP as a member of our policing ‘vuvale’ not only supporting Fiji but [also] Pacific law enforcement.”
Vuvale is Fijian for “family”.
“We are proud to have contributed to this successful investigation, and I congratulate the hardworking officers who worked tirelessly to achieve this result,” said AFP Senior Officer Adrian Morton.
“The AFP has provided training and various digital forensic tools through the Cyber Safety Pasifika program to help law enforcement agencies across the Pacific region to combat cyber and technology-based offending.
“This successful investigation is testament to the positive working relationships between AFP International Command, Norfolk Island Police Force and Fiji Police Force.”
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.