An Indian court sentenced a couple to death for sexually assaulting 33 boys, some as young as three, and selling videos of the abuse on the dark web, authorities said.
According to a statement released Friday by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), some victims required hospitalization due to genital injuries sustained in penetrative sexual assaults. The incidents occurred between 2010 and 2020 in the districts of Banda and Chitrakoot, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
During the investigation, it emerged that the accused had committed "various perverse acts, including aggravated sexual assault with penetration against 33 male children," the CBI stated. The couple lured the children by promising them access to online video games, as well as money and gifts.
The abuse was filmed, and the videos and photographs were then sold to clients in 47 countries via the dark web, according to the Times of India. A special court handed down the death sentence and also ordered the state government to compensate each victim with one million rupees (approximately $11,000). The decision is subject to appeal.
In India, the last executions took place in March 2020, when four men convicted of the gang rape and murder of a young woman in New Delhi in 2012 were hanged.
