Grand raid in Hesse: Police proceed against child pornography!

Grand raid in Hesse: Police proceed against child pornography!

In an extensive nationwide campaign, the police in Hesse carried out a large raid against child pornography and sexual violence against minors last week. The use that aimed at combating sexual assault led to a total of 85 apartments and houses. The investigators focused on almost 80 suspects aged 14 to 78, including a woman. Most of the allegations are characterized by manufacture, possession and distribution of child and youth pornography. In twelve cases, sexual abuse of less than 18 year olds is also subordinate, in three other cases even rape. During the mission, an arrest warrant was carried out against a 34-year-old man from the Main-Kinzig district. A total of 14 other accused were heard and then released again. Hundreds of electronic storage media were ensured, but the evaluation of which is still ongoing. Deutschlandfunk reports on the dimension of this police operation.

The operation was coordinated by the police and the Hessen State Criminal Police Office as part of the "Focus" unit against sexual violence in minors. The accused were apparently not networked with each other, which made the investigation more complicated. The unclear period of time for the investigation leaves additional questions open. The raid took place in various cities, including Darmstadt, Frankfurt am Main, Gießen, Kassel, Offenbach, Wiesbaden and several counties. More than 2,084 objects have been confiscated, in particular electronic data carriers that now have to be monitored. These massive measures are part of a greater effort to combat the decreasing law enforcement of sexual offenses, as the increased number of cases show.

increased need for action

The increase in cases of sexual violence against children and adolescents is alarming. According to the federal parade 2023 of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) published in July 2024, the number of registered cases of sexual abuse in children in 2023 increased by 5.5 percent compared to the previous year. This data is undoubtedly crucial for this large raid. In just one year, 16,375 cases of sexual abuse of children were reported, and 18,497 children under the age of 14 were victims of sexual abuse, which corresponds to an increase of 7.7 percent. The proportion of suspected children and adolescents is around 30 percent. Tagesschau underlines the urgency of this topic by the detailed reporting on the search and their results.

In addition, it should be noted that over 50 percent of cases of sexual abuse have a preliminary relationship between victims and perpetrators. The vast majority of victims in the area of sexual abuse is female. The statistics also show that the number of cases for child pornographic content has been more than tripled since 2019, with an increase in 7.4 percent to 45,191 cases in 2023. This speaks for the need for intensive investigations and preventive measures to better protect children and adolescents.

The police and the LKA Hessen have sent a clear appeal to combat child pornography and sexual violence to minors with this raid. It is to be hoped that the investigation will lead to further information and the perpetrators can be held responsible. The continued evaluation of the ensured storage media will play a crucial role here.