Eleven people have been arrested in various German regions by police who suspect them of having sexually abused several children and of having filmed their misdeeds, police in Münster (West) announced on Saturday 6 June. Investigators identified at least three children, ages 5, 10 and 12, as one of the victims.
Seven people, several of whom were already " unfavorably known " to the justice system, have been placed in pre-trial detention, said Münster police chief Rainer Furth at a press conference.
In all, six men and a woman are suspected either of having directly abused children, or of having participated in the logistics of these misdeeds or exchanged information via encrypted messaging.
The main accused is a 27-year-old man from Münster, working on a farm and computer enthusiast, said the investigators. Hard drives containing up to 500 terabytes of data, including videos and photos, were seized from his cellar.
Also on remand are his 45-year-old mother - owner of the Münster summer house where the events took place and who allegedly left him the keys while knowing what was going on in the house - as well as men aged between 30 and 43 from Staufenberg (Lower Saxony), Hanover, Schorfheide (Brandenburg), Kassel or Cologne.
According to the investigators, two of the victims are the 10-year-old son of the 27-year-old man's partner and the 5-year-old son of an accused living in Staufenberg.
The third victim, 12, is said to be the nephew of the accused, originally from Kassel. He allegedly directly abused the boy, according to the data seized.
" These men, if we can call them that, proceeded treacherously by encrypting all their discussions on their laptops, " said the head of the investigation Joachim Poll. The investigators said they were particularly shocked at the press conference, explaining in particular that the videos showed how four men alternately abused for " several hours " the two boys of 5 and 10 years old. " You can't imagine it, " said Poll.