87 accused
Major raid against child pornography in Hesse: Police search more than 80 objects
An investigator from the Hessian police’s BAO “Fokus”, which takes action against depictions of sexual violence against children (archive image)
© Arne Dedert / DPA
Investigators in Hesse have succeeded in striking a blow against sexual violence against children. Hundreds of pieces of evidence were seized during raids. There are also adolescents among the suspects.
In the fight against sexual violence Last week, the Hessian State Criminal Police Office (LKA) searched a total of 85 apartments and identified 87 suspects. ““Eight of them are accused of sexual abuse of children and young people,” the LKA announced on Monday. “The other 79 are accused of acquiring, possessing or distributing child or youth pornography.”
Police seize hundreds of data carriers
To the Raids The Special Organization (BAO) “Fokus” involved 315 investigators throughout the state. The suspects include 75 men and twelve women. “23 of the accused are not yet 21 years old,” it continued. The alleged perpetrators are said to have not been in contact with each other.
The BAO officials are now faced with the task of evaluating almost 750 seized storage media such as laptops, smartphones or USB sticks and so on Proofs to collect for possible legal proceedings. The investigators also hope for new investigative approaches.
The aim of the Hessian special unit, which was founded around three years ago LKA is to protect minors from sexual violence and to investigate sexual crimes directed against children and young people. In total, BAO “Fokus” has more than 300 employees.
According to information, last week’s raids took place in the cities of Darmstadt, Frankfurt am Main, Hanau, Kassel, Offenbach am Main and Wiesbaden, as well as in the districts of Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Bergstrasse, Darmstadt-Dieburg, Fulda, Gießen and Groß -Gerau, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Kassel, Limburg-Weilburg, Offenbach, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Main-Kinzig district, Rheingau-Taunus district, Vogelsberg district, Werra-Meißner district and Wetterau district.
Sources: Hesse State Criminal Police OfficeAFP news agency