The police took action against child pornography in North Rhine-Westphalia on Tuesday with a large-scale raid. The authorities searched the homes of 35 suspects in a total of 27 cities during the nationwide day of action, according to the Cologne public prosecutor and the State Criminal Police Office in Düsseldorf. There were missions in Bonn, Essen, Cologne and Wuppertal, among others.
According to the information, the accused are suspected of having exchanged child pornographic images and videos via a messenger service. “The fact that images of abuse are also shared via ordinary messenger services shows the extent of the problem of child pornography on the Internet,” explained Markus Hartmann, head of the central and contact point for cybercrime in North Rhine-Westphalia, which led the day of action.
Hartmann announced a continuation of the “consistent pursuit strategy”. According to their own statements, the authorities want to use the day of action to make it clear that the spread of child pornography is being consistently pursued. “The fight against child pornography is a long-distance race in which we will not let up,” explained Ingo Wünsch, director of the State Criminal Police Office in North Rhine-Westphalia. The operation initially continued on Tuesday.
