Dutch man held for child pornography was trying to buy an adolescent, says prosecutor

Nelson M., who was arrested in Mexico City on Sunday on suspicion of possession of child pornography and human trafficking, remains in custody. The prosecutor from Mexico said he was being kept behind bars after the man appeared before the examining magistrate in the Mexican capital on Wednesday.

Public prosecutor Laura Angelina Borbolla Moreno previously announced during a press conference in Amsterdam that the case against him is very serious. She said he is incarcerated in "one of the largest prisons in the country." The Mexican prosecutor reported that the investigation into the man is ongoing.

The man is suspected in the Netherlands of continuing to operate the banned pedophile association Martijn, and of possessing 10,000 images containing child pornography. M. was allowed to await the trial against him in freedom. He then fled to Mexico, where he said he would apply for political asylum. He was arrested in Mexico on Sunday after an anonymous report was received by the Mexican prosecutor’s office that M. intended to sell child pornography.

"Also, according to that report, he may have been planning to buy an adolescent," Moreno said. It was on the way to this appointment that the man was arrested. He allegedly had photos of one or more children in his pocket. Several storage devices containing child pornography, a weapon, and drugs were also seized. This involves a total of four terabytes of material, a "very large amount.”

Nelson M. can receive a sentence of up to fifty years per offense, depending on the court that hears his case, according to Moreno. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service announced earlier this week that it had not contacted Mexican authorities about extradition before his arrest. "What we understand is that he was arrested for criminal offenses he committed in Mexico. It is up to the authorities there to determine how they deal with it and whether they would like to prosecute him for it."

Pedophile association Martijn was banned and dissolved by the Supreme Court in 2014 because its members glorified and promoted sexual relations between adults and children. Two other former members, Marthijn U. and Norbert de J., were sentenced in March to prison terms of four and six months for continuing the association.