Dark Web Child Porn Site Busted by  International Operation

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The founders of a massive Dark Web child porn site have been arrested. Four arrests were made in a German-led multi-agency operation. It was announced Monday that the site has been taken down. “Boystown” with over 400,000 global users was the largest child sexual abuse platform on the Dark Web.

International Cooperation

The German Federal Police announced their successful raid of seven addresses across Germany. And three of the four Boystown site owners were arrested in Germany. They also seized the digital images and videos of young children.

Europol is examining and distributing the video and images in their Victim Identification Taskforces. As victims are identified more arrests and rescues are anticipated internationally.

Along with Europol at least, 6 countries cooperated to bring down the site and arrest those responsible. The police sting and investigation included the following authorities.

  •  Germany: Federal Criminal Police (Bundeskriminalamt)
  • The Netherlands: National Police (Politie)
  • Sweden: National Police (Polisen)
  • Australia: Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), Australian Federal Police (AFP) Queensland Police Service (QPS)
  • United States: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
  • Canada: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
  • Europol: European Union Agency for Law Enforcement 

Europol reports that child sexual abuse online communities on the dark web are often resurrected, as soon as, they are taken down,

Boystown

One of those arrested, a 64-year-old Hamburg man, is accused of personally uploading over 3,500 images. But no suspects can be publically identified.