51 suspects

Strike in Germany against child pornography

According to the police in Germany, they have managed to strike a blow against the distribution of child abuse images. In several operations over the past three weeks, 47 homes and workplaces in 22 cities and municipalities in Saarland have been searched, the state police headquarters announced on Friday in Saarbrücken.

Relevant material on IT devices as well as on printouts was seized. A total of 533 items are now being evaluated. The Saarbrücken public prosecutor's office is investigating a total of 51 suspects. The youngest is 14 years old, the oldest 70 years old. Three women are also among them. Some of the suspects were already known to the police, it said.

According to the police, the background to the actions included information from the "National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)" in the USA. This reports criminal, in particular child pornography content on the Internet worldwide. The information relating to Germany would be passed on to the police forces of the federal states via the Federal Criminal Police Office in Wiesbaden.

In the case of the 14-year-old suspected of the crime, it is assumed that he "recklessly dealt with such images", the police also announced. Children and young people often recklessly share forbidden images and videos without realizing that this is child pornography and that they are therefore liable to prosecution.