Sentenced to 97 years for photographing 35 minors nude or in sexual poses

FRANCISCO JOSÉ FAJARDO Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

The Provincial Court of Las Palmas has sentenced Luis Jorge M.E., the photographer from Gran Canaria prosecuted for taking advantage of 35 minors who passed through his studio, dreaming of starting out as models to portray them naked or in sexual poses, to 97 years in prison explicit.

According to the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands, the High Court finds him guilty of 35 crimes of child pornography, nine of them aggravated.

According to the indictment of prosecutor José Antonio Díez, from 2013 to March 2018 –when he was arrested by members of the National Police–, the defendant dedicated himself to working as an amateur photographer, maintaining business usual with other professionals in the sector. Over time, he became the director and partner of the modeling agency called Moodels Canarias, he dedicated himself to contacting, through social networks such as Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, young adults and minors who were interested in being models. to carry out "modeling" photographic reports, maintains the public prosecution.

Systematically, the defendant avoided the presence of the parents of the minors in the place where he held the sessions, which was a garage set up as a photographic studio located in the El Batán neighborhood of the capital. When he made an appointment with the victims to do the photo sessions, "he suggested that they take off their clothes and pose in a suggestive or sensual attitude, in erotic gestures, showing their breasts, as well as completely naked, in order to prepare the corresponding files." computer image of minors ", determines the public prosecution.

The Provincial Prosecutor's Office considered that Luis Jorge M.E. "convinced in most cases" the girls, taking advantage of "the illusion of minors of becoming professional models, telling them that in order to live up to such At a professional level, they had to have full confidence in the photographer and lose their shame," the indictment abounds.

Using this modus operandi, Luis Jorge M.E. took photographs of a sexual nature of 41 minors between the periods between 2013 and March 2018, girls who were between 14 and 17 years old.

He was discovered as a result of a complaint filed by a minor in February 2018 whom, according to the record, he tried to convince to photograph her nude. The police found storage devices with child pornography of the 41 minors located in the false bottom of a mattress in the photographer's family home.

According to the Provincial Prosecutor's Office, the 41 victims were photographed in different poses with a highly erotic content despite the fact that they were minors and had previously signed a contract with Luis Jorge M.E. in which it was specified that none of the images that I was going to drink it would be of this type nor would they have to undress. He forbade his parents from being present at the photography sessions.

In the accusation made by the Public Ministry, it is detailed how he took photos of the victims in many styles such as naked, alone or in the company of other girls, in lesbian attitudes, grabbing the breasts of other models and even in some cases spreading his legs so that his genitals could be seen. In one case, he even photographed a 16-year-old girl naked, chained and shackled.

In five of the cases, the complainants did not agree to the alleged claims of the photographer. Between 2013 and 2015, the defendant insisted on a girl to pose nude for her until he managed to photograph her showing her breasts but with her nipple covered. In another of the investigated cases, he wanted to capture images of a naked 14-year-old model, but the minor did not agree to his claims.

Police investigations date back to February 2018 when they received the first complaint. The photographer used his extensive professional experience and offered free collaborations for young people between the ages of 14 and 18, with the dream or objective of dedicating themselves to the world of fashion. For this, he used his professional website in which he offered his services with the appearance of normality.

The deal consisted of carrying out a complete report in exchange for giving them several photographs. This offer made many minors go to a garage, located in El Batán, where he did these sessions and not in his studio in Teror. In an effort to maintain that halo of professionalism, the parents signed a contract that included a clause stating that no nude photos of the girls would be taken. Even so, he did not allow the parents to witness the session, with the excuse of preventing the victims from becoming self-conscious.

The shoot began as normal, with the girls posing by changing postures and costumes. When he had gained their trust, he asked them to take off their clothes little by little. At one point, he justified them that in order to succeed in fashion and advertising, they had to pose nude and that these photographs would be sent to them when they were of legal age.

Once he achieved the goal of getting them undressed, he took images in various positions and shots that were specifically sexual. Once the session was over, the victims left the garage without telling their parents anything. The sexual images that Luis Jorge MC allegedly took were hidden in the false bottom of a mattress in the photographer's family home, which were seized by the police. At no time did he deliver these images to the young women and he only sent them the first ones he took in the sessions.