German justice is investigating around 30,000 people suspected of being involved in a major pedophilia case in the west of the country. Local authorities announced this on Thursday.
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“We want to perpetrate the perpetrators of child abuse and those who help them out of the anonymity of the Internet,” said Peter Biesenbach, the Minister of Justice of the North Rhine-Westphalia region, at a news conference. The investigation was started in that federal state.
So far, about 70 people have been suspected of this affair that started in the town of Bergisch Gladbach last fall. A number of them are currently on trial. They are said to have abused children for years and filmed their crimes on online discussion groups. For their part, investigators have identified at least 40 victims so far.
The German police officers were warned by Canadian police officers who discovered child pornography from this western German region. A 42-year-old man, whose trial is expected to start in August, has already been arrested. Investigators found huge amounts of child pornography in his apartment, and the existence of several discussion groups with several thousand participants. It is now these recipients of pornographic material who are in the crosshairs of German justice.
After several cases of pedophilia in recent years that have shocked the country, the authorities are now more unyielding. “The authors who communicate on the forums consider child abuse normal and find a large number of like-minded people. The inhibition thresholds drop. And that is what characterizes this criminal situation, ”warns Biesenbach. “If we want to actively combat child abuse on the Internet, we also need to talk about legal data storage regulations. One cannot do without the other, ”he added.
As far as is known, there are no links with our country, although the investigation is still ongoing and it cannot be excluded that more suspects will be identified.
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