Greek public opinion has been stunned by the revelations concerning the activities of Filippos Leventos, 40, an alleged pedophile from the Athens working class suburb of Peristeri suspected in a handful of abductions and rapes of pre-pubescent teens he lured over the Internet.

The man, who owned a mini-market in the district, was well-known amongst his neighbors, many of whom said they are shocked by the charges and the investigation against him.

Online chat discussions have seen published showing promises made by the suspect to young teenaged boys he promised to “send to heaven” and other documents, where he tried to convince teens to send him illicit material or to meet with him in a public place.

The publication of his photograph by the press led three families to check their teens computers, where they reportedly realized that their children may have had contact with the accused man. The taboid Espresso reports that there is a possibility that the boys will be interviewed by police.

A further four accusations are being examined by the Cyber Crimes Squad, whereas a total of 40 accusations by parents have sprung as a direct result of the media publicity the case has received so far.

The accused man’s parents, two people who saw their lives shaken from one moment to the other, insist on their son’s innocence. “My son is innocent and hasn’t done any of the things of which he is accused,” said the mother. “You’ll see. He’ll be proven innocent.” The mother is worried both about the future of her son and the failing health of her husband, who is in a bad psychological state.

The customers entering the mini market do so stiffly nowadays. “What is happening is not their fault. Imagine what must be going in their lives right now,” says one customer who shops there, admitting that there is tension in the neighborhood following the reports concerning the alleged pedophile.

While most of the customers were unaware of Leventos’ lewd activities using the alias Konstandinos Georgiadasakis, witnesses at a cafe across the street from a school complex in the district claim that the suspect tried to strike up conversations with teens at the cafe, often inviting them to his family’s mini market. Even so, no complaints had ever been filed by neighbors around the mini market.

He also traveled to Thailand on at least two occasions raising concerns that the trips were for the purpose of “sex tourism”. Tabloid Espresso writes that the wall outside the mini market had repeatedly been sprayed with the word “Pedophile” only to be immediately repainted.

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