What happened: South Korean court has sentenced the mastermind of one of the country’s biggest online sex abuse rings to 40 years in jail.

Cho Ju-bin was found guilty of running a group which blackmailed girls into sharing sexual videos that were then posted in pay-to-view chat rooms.

At least 10,000 people used the chatrooms, with some paying up to $1,200 (£1,000) for access. Nearly 74 people, including 16 underage girls, were exploited by his network.

This scandal sparked a national outcry by activists, organizations and many politicians

Charges: Cho was found guilty of violating laws to protect children from sexual abuse and for running a criminal ring which produced and sold abusive videos in order to make a profit. Cho’s criminal syndicate sold the videos it acquired through blackmail to secretive chat rooms on the Telegram app.