A Rotterdam teenager arrested last October on hacking charges is also being accused of creating and circulating child pornography, the public prosecution department said on Thursday.

The public prosecutor told a pro-forma court hearing the investigation into the youth, now 19, is continuing.

He is now said to have made photographs of at least 25 minors either by accessing webcams or stealing files, and used them in a way that qualifies them as child pornography. Police picked up the trail of the youth after a girl spotted naked photographs of herself on line.

Webcam

The justice department has now advised people to place a sticker over webcams if they are not being used.

The youth is also suspected of circulating a stolen French school leaving exam which he found on the computer of one of his victims. That led to the discovery of the Ibn Ghaldoun exam theft involving several dozen Rotterdam school pupils.

The youth, who has been in custody since his arrest, will remain in jail as the investigation continues.