The police and judiciary in Lower Franconia are taking action against child pornography with a large-scale day of action.
A total of around 100 emergency services are on site.
Würzburg / Bamberg - Investigators from the police and judiciary searched a total of 26 apartments in Lower Franconia on Wednesday (October 20).
The aim of the campaign: to secure evidence to counter the growing spread of child pornography and to uncover and prevent cases of child abuse.
In the raid, a total of 28 men were identified who are said to have distributed records and images of child abuse, police and prosecutors reported on Thursday (October 21) in a joint press release.
Some of the suspects have been temporarily arrested, but none have been taken into custody.
After completing the police measures, the officers have released all suspects.
Raid in Bavaria: numerous pieces of evidence secured
In addition to the police in Lower Franconia, the three public prosecutor's offices in Schweinfurt *, Würzburg * and Aschaffenburg * as well as the Bavarian Center for Combating Child Pornography and Sexual Abuse on the Internet (ZKI) at the Bamberg Public Prosecutor's Office * were involved in the search.
During the searches in Main Franconia, Lower Main and Main-Rhön, numerous pieces of evidence such as storage media were secured, the investigators said.
The evaluation will now take some time, it said in the message.
Significantly more cases: Action in Lower Franconia also as a sign
As has already been observed nationwide, the number of cases in the field of child pornography and child abuse has risen significantly in the past few years in Lower Franconia as well, the investigators explained.
In 2018 there were 225 criminal offenses registered, in 2020 there were 541 cases.
The trend for 2021 will continue to rise significantly, said the police and the public prosecutor.
The action had clearly shown the perpetrators that they could not hide in the anonymity of the Internet.
"The action once again illustrates the considerable efforts that the police and public prosecutors are making to emphatically prevent the distribution of child pornographic material," said Attorney General Wolfgang Gründler.
(iwe with agencies) * Merkur.de / bayern is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
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