Investigation results on child abuse network

Published on October 8, 2024

The Duisburg police and employees of the Central and Contact Point for Cybercrime North Rhine-Westphalia (ZAC NRW) have managed to deal a major blow to a child abuse network. They uncovered a platform on the darknet on which images of abuse of children and young people were uploaded and distributed. NRW Justice Minister Limbach spoke of a "bombshell" at a press conference on Tuesday morning. Perpetrators cannot hide - "not even on the darknet." NRW Interior Minister Reul and NRW Justice Minister Limbach provide insight into the investigations The platform had been a forum for material showing sexualized violence against children since 2019. "This made it one of the longest-lasting platforms of its kind," said NRW Interior Minister Reul. The website has since been shut down. On Tuesday, Reul thanked all the emergency services for "not being afraid to go to this platform again and again, to look at disgusting photos and videos, to look for clues to the perpetrators." He was "deeply impressed" and the commitment to society, especially to children, was "immeasurable."

Where did the investigations take place?

The investigations have been ongoing since April 2020 and were carried out nationwide. The Duisburg police were in charge. At the end of September, the officers then carried out searches in North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate and Schleswig-Holstein and raided "leading backers" of the platform. 200 officers were deployed.

The seven men, aged between 43 and 69, are said to be part of the platform's leadership team, two of them, aged 45 and 56, are said to come from North Rhine-Westphalia, from Minden and Jüchen. Seven properties were searched and six people arrested, who are currently in custody.

Source: Www1.wdr.de