Europol arrests 57 men for sharing more than 100 images of child sexual abuse – 2024-03-10 10:29:20

The agency Europol arrested at least 57 men between 23 and 72 years old, for being suspected of “owning and sharing representations of child sexual abuse”during a European operation that also managed to save several children who could be victims of those arrested.

As the agency announced this Friday, 27 European countries participated in the operation, led by Denmark, France and Poland. All of the detainees were men, between 23 and 72 years old, among whom were four teachers and one of them worked with children with disabilities.

What are these men suspected of?

According to the information shared by Europol, the suspects were arrested for “downloading and disseminating child sexual abuse material using peer-to-peer (P2P) networks” and at the same time possessing “manuals on how to commit sexual abuse,” two characteristics that lead them to be considered “high value objectives” for Europol.

“They are supposed to be the most likely to physically abuse children. “The 57 national investigations into crimes committed by those arrested will also be a starting point for future police action, with more arrests and seizures expected across Europe,” said the European police coordination agency.

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A training course in Denmark in shared investigation techniques and subsequent operations took place in September 2023, but details can only be released now as the search for investigations is still ongoing.

In this training program, the agents learned to investigate “perpetrators suspected of abusing their own children or at least possessing and distributing material that described the sexual abuse of children” and, in this way, in the operation “more than 100 thousand illegal files” were seizedbut, as forensic examination of the seized digital devices is still ongoing, investigators estimate that “a final total of more than one million images and videos” will be found and confiscated.