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Former Misiones province lawmaker Germán Kiczka and his brother Sebastián were sentenced to 14 and 12 years in prison respectively after being found guilty of possessing and distributing images of child sexual abuse. 

In addition to this, Germán Kiczka was also found guilty of facilitating images and Sebastián was convicted for sexual assault. The sentence against the brothers was also aggravated due to the fact that the children featured in the images were under 13. 

Public prosecutors Martín Raú and Alejandro Vladimir Glinka had requested 15 years for Germán and 12 for Sebastián. They demanded a longer sentence for the former lawmaker after his defense tried to pin the blame exclusively on his brother.

The case of the Kiczka brothers made headlines last year as the pair went on the run after the accusations surfaced and evaded capture for almost a week. Their involvement in an international pedophile network was revealed by Digital Childhood Guardians, a cross-country operation spearheaded by two international NGOs devoted to fighting child trafficking that also included several local law enforcement agencies. 

The NGOs work led to a massive police operation led by the United States embassy in Argentina. Raids were carried out in Buenos Aires City, BA province, Tucumán, and numerous other Latin American cities. 

Although Sebastián Kiczka was the intended target of the initial probe, prosecutors learned of Germán’s involvement through the ensuing investigation. Hundreds of explicit files depicting child sex abuse and bestiality were found on the computer of the former provincial legislator and additional devices linked to the brothers. 

Evidence and closing arguments

During the final hearing, Raú showed the courtroom videos found on the Kiczkas’ computers and USB drives obtained in a search of their father’s home in February, 2024. “Many of them, you can see at a glance, are very young children,” the prosecutor said. 

“It is difficult for me to show you this material, but unfortunately, it is necessary,” he added. The videos were shown in the courtroom but not included in the online broadcast of the hearing.

Sebastián Kiczka’s lawyer argued that the videos had been downloaded from the internet and that the defendants were not responsible for the crimes shown on the footage. He mentioned that a psychological expert had said the defendant has “compulsive behaviour and a dysfunctional life.”

In Tuesday’s hearing, Sebastián tried to put all the blame on himself. He acknowledged he had watched the images at his brother’s house but claimed that he did not know watching “those kinds of videos” was illegal. 

The prosecution had previously pointed out that possession of videos of child sexual abuse is still classified as abuse, as the content was distributed through an international pedophile network.

Although the details justifying the sentence will be revealed in a hearing in nine days, during the hearing prosecutor Raú said that experts were able to verify Germán Kiczka was the main user of a computer containing explicit images of abuse. Inside the device, he said, were images of the former lawmaker participating in activities for political party Activar.

Activar is a libertarian political party in Misiones province the ex lawmaker used to belong to before being removed from the Misiones legislature. It is part of ruling coalition La Libertad Avanza (LLA). During the trial, he claimed he was framed due to political persecution. Although he admitted being part of a Telegram group chat in which child sexual abuse was detected, he claimed all he saw there were “pictures of a model” and that he “never wrote” in the chat.

If you have any information of sexual abuse against children and adolescents in Argentina, please call 137 or 102. These are national, toll-free hotlines that provide assistance and support. You can also contact them via WhatsApp at +54 9 11 3133 1000.