A web designer and blogger who was busted by the police over pornography on the internet has been granted bail.
Anderson Ofosuhene Anim, a.k.a Morio Gee, who appeared before an Accra circuit court on Wednesday, was admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢300,000 with two sureties to be justified with a landed property.
The documents of the landed property must be deposited at the court’s Registry pending the final determination of the case.
The court presided over by Mrs Susana Eduful adjourned the case to October 12, awaiting the advice from the Attorney General’s Department.
It further ordered the prosecution to file the AG’s advice within one month.
Prosecuting, Inspector Princess Tettey Boafo earlier had informed the court the police were waiting for the advice from the AG.
According to prosecution, the plea of the accused should be preserved until the advice is received since the charges can change.
She did not object to the granting of bail, saying investigations had been completed.
She said Anim allegedly collected monies from victims, both children and adults, on the pretext of pulling down their nude pictures and videos on the internet.
She said despite collecting the monies, Anim splashed the videos and pictures of the victims on social media.
The police prosecutor said the accused conducted his activities at Osino, in the Eastern Region, as the operator of the www.empressleaks.biz website.
She said Anim collected various sums ranging from GH¢100.00 to GH¢500.00 from his victims through mobile money transfers and invested these proceeds of the crime in buying houses and vehicles.
She said Anim was being held on charges of child pornography, publication of obscene materials and cybercrime, and money laundering.
Inspector Boafo said in January last year, the Cybercrime Unit of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), through intelligence, gathered that www.empressleaks.biz was operating in the internet space by publishing nude videos and pictures of Ghanaian children and adults without their knowledge.
Prosecution said further inquiry revealed that Anim, who owns the website, collected monies from victims via mobile money transfers before pulling down their videos and pictures from the site, but sometimes even after the victims had paid the monies to him, he would later post the videos and pictures on social media platforms.
Prosecution said on January 30, this year, the Cybercrime Unit team proceeded to Anim’s residence at Osino, where he was found uploading videos on www.empressleaks.biz website.
According to the prosecution, all his digital devices were retrieved and that efforts were underway to apprehend Anim’s accomplices who took nude videos and pictures of victims and sent same to him.
GNA
