Suspected sex predator arrested for 'attempting to exploit children on Facebook'

AMMAN — Police said Monday they arrested a man who reportedly created a bogus Facebook account impersonating a young girl to sexually exploit children.

The man was arrested following a complaint by a woman, who noticed that the Facebook user who pretended to be a young girl tried to sexually exploit her 10-year-old daughter on the social media website.

The woman filed a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID) cyber security unit, which started an investigation, identified the suspect and arrested him, the department said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

The arrested man confessed to creating a fake Facebook account to communicate with girls and children to sexually exploit them, the CID said in the statement.

The police warned against sex predators seeking to exploit children online and said parents should be aware of their children's online activities and monitor their use of social networking sites.

“Parents should constantly warn their children against communicating with strangers online and of the risks they might face. They should also make sure that their children never send any pictures of themselves or information to anyone they do not trust,” the CID statement said.

The unit dealt with 2,300 cyber crimes in 2015, up from 8 crimes when it was first established in 2008.

The majority of the cyber crimes dealt with in 2015 were slander, threats or exploitation attempts.

Articles 9 of the Electronic Crimes Law stipulates that anyone who exploits those under 18, or people with mental disabilities, to engage them in prostitution or any pornographic act is subject to imprisonment and a fine of no less than JD5,000 and no more than JD15,000.