Police Arrest Libertarian Lawmaker Accused of Possessing Child Porn Images

Germán Kiczka, MP for the province of Misiones, is accused of possessing and distributing images of child sexual abuse. He was arrested by local police in the province of Corrientes on Wednesday night after being on the run for almost a week.

Corrientes police found him hiding in a hut in the town of Loreto, 200 kilometers from Apóstoles, the town where he lives in Misiones.

Argentine authorities issued an international arrest warrant after he escaped, and Interpol issued an international red alert on Monday. The Misiones government also offered a reward of AR$5 million (US$5,160 at the official rate, US$3,900 at the MEP rate) for information on his whereabouts. His brother Sebastián, who faces the same charges, remains at large.

“Stop this political persecution, this is the photo you wanted!” Kiczka shouted to waiting journalists as he arrived at the police station in Apóstoles in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The Corrientes Provincial Security Ministry handed Kiczka over to Misiones police early Thursday morning. Images showed Kiczka handcuffed, wearing a safety helmet and bulletproof vest to protect him from possible attacks.

Kiczka belongs to Activar, a libertarian political party in the province of Misiones, which is part of the governing coalition La Libertad Avanza (LLA). The Misiones legislature stripped him of his congressional immunity last week at the request of Judge Miguel Faría, but he remains a local deputy because his party did not accept his offer to give up his seat weeks ago.

According to Misiones deputy police chief Marcos López, a neighbor told Corrientes police that Kicza was in the cabin, which was located in a campsite in the municipality of Loreto. “Apparently, he rented a room there. Because of the time of year, there were no other people staying there,” López told the press.

Kiczka was alone and appears to have arrived in his own vehicle, which was found there by police. “He did not resist arrest,” López added.

Kiczka is believed to have initially fled to Brazil or Paraguay. Justice officials are investigating a WhatsApp voice message in which he allegedly asked someone to prepare a room for him at a hotel in Puerto Iguazú, near Argentina’s border with those countries.

Regarding the whereabouts of Germán’s brother Sebastián, López said they have “several leads” and are working to find him.

Security Minister Patricia Bullrich celebrated the arrest with a post on her X account. “Pedophile deputy arrested,” she wrote Wednesday night. “These mentally deviants will pay. Don’t even doubt it.”

The case

The case against Germán and Sebastián Kiczka is part of “Digital Childhood Guardians,” a larger, transnational operation led by two international NGOs dedicated to the fight against child trafficking. It also involves several local law enforcement agencies.

In 2020, before entering politics, Germán posted a series of self-made videos on his YouTube channel called El Show de Magia del Tío German (Uncle Germán’s Magic Show) with content aimed at children. His brother often appeared in the videos.

The brothers became one of the targets of the operation after a computer crime unit of the Buenos Aires Public Prosecutor’s Office, acting on information from the NGOs, raided their father’s home in February. Detectives found many images of child sexual abuse on one of the computers seized there.

In early August, the lawmaker’s home was searched again and police found new footage on his devices that indicated abuse, some of which also showed bestiality.

Two weeks ago, in an interview with local TV channel Misiones Cuatro, the parliamentarian stressed his innocence and suggested that his brother was the real perpetrator.

The Entry Police arrest libertarian lawmaker accused of possessing images of child sex abuse, as published in the Buenos Aires Herald.