A vast network of child pornography on Darknet, neutralized

Three Germans were arrested after a months-long investigation by a special German police unit coordinated by Europol and with the collaboration of Dutch, Swedish, Australian, American and Canadian police.

Another, who resides in Paraguay, is the subject of an international arrest warrant on the basis of which he is expected to be delivered to German authorities. The police did not reveal their identities.

The German judicial police announced on Monday the dismantling of a child pornography network on the Darknet, billed as one “of the largest in the world” and with more than 400,000 members.

The dismantling of the “BOYSTOWN” platform, which had existed since 2019, took place in mid-April, according to a police statement.

Three of the suspects, aged 40, 49 and 58 respectively, are suspected “of having been the administrators of the child pornography platform”.

In addition to managing the network, they were responsible for “following up on customers,” the police said.

The fourth, a 64-year-old man, is believed to have been one of the platform’s most active users, and to have posted more than 3,500 messages.

“The platform was international in scope and was used for the exchange of underage pornography between its members,” mainly photos or videos of abuse perpetrated against boys. Among them were “images of serious sexual abuse of very young children,” police said.

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