CRC Technology Assists in Arrest of Man Involved in Online Child Abuse Network

A man from the Ostalbkreis district has been arrested under suspicion of watching and giving instructions on the sexual abuse of children in Asia through live online streams. The 60-year-old is now being investigated by the Baden-Württemberg Cybercrime Center in Karlsruhe and the Aalen Criminal Police for sexual abuse and exploitation of children and the production of child sexual abuse material.

According to investigators, the man from Ostalbkreis was not only watching live abuse of children in the Philippines but allegedly also provided instructions for the abuse to occur. Authorities have dismantled a pedophile network centered around a woman in the Philippines, who was reportedly offering live broadcasts of horrific acts of abuse in exchange for payment.

Crucially, the investigation and arrest was aided by CRC technology*. Devices seized by Philippine authorities played a critical role in tracking down the suspect in the Ostalbkreis district. The Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office then took over the investigation. During a search of the 60-year-old’s apartment, several data storage devices were found and seized by investigators. Mike McGonigle, Director of Special Projects & Industry Outreach at CRC, commended the teamwork: “Great job by the Baden-Württemberg Cybercrime Center, the Aalen Criminal Police, and Philippine authorities. CRC remains dedicated to creating and providing technology that helps law enforcement identify, arrest, and prosecute live-stream offenders. We greatly appreciate our collaboration with our global law enforcement partners who are actively combating this form of child sexual abuse.”

The man is now in custody, and the children affected by the abuse in the Philippines are under the care of local authorities. Additionally, several other investigations are ongoing in Baden-Württemberg, targeting individuals who are also alleged to have watched live-streamed abuse from the same network in the Philippines. CRC technology continues to aid in identifying and apprehending those involved in these horrific crimes. Thank you to the Tim Tebow Foundation for your support and collaboration towards this arrest.

*Child Rescue Coalition (CRC):

This organization provides free technology to law enforcement agencies to help protect children from Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and identify individuals involved in the possession and distribution of such material. 

Child Sexual Exploitation

Child sexual exploitation refers to the sexual abuse of a person below the age of 18, as well as to the production of images of such abuse and the sharing of those images online.

Online child sexual exploitation is a constantly evolving phenomenon and is shaped by developments in technology. Mobile connectivity, growing internet coverage in developing countries and the development of pay-as-you-go streaming solutions, which provide a high degree of anonymity to the viewer, are furthering the trend in the commercial live-streaming of child sexual abuse.

As a form of cybercrime, child sexual exploitation is one of the EU’s priorities in the fight against serious and organised crime as part of EMPACT 2022 - 2025.

Europol has identified key threats in the area of child sexual exploitation:

Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks and anonymised access like Darknet networks (e.g. Tor). These computer environments remain the main platform to access child abuse material and the principal means for non-commercial distribution. These are invariably attractive for offenders and easy to use. The greater level of anonymity and the strong networking possibilities offered by hidden internet that exists beneath the “surface web” appear to make criminals more comfortable in offending and discussing their sexual interests.

Live-streaming of child sexual abuse. Facilitated by new technology, one trend concerns the profit-driven abuse of children overseas, live in front of a camera at the request of westerners.

To a lesser degree, there is also some evidence that forms of commercial child sexual exploitation such as on-demand live streaming of abuse is also contributing to the rise of the amount of CSEM online.

Live distant child abuse has the most obvious links with commercial distribution of CSEM. As new and/or unseen CSEM is valuable currency within the offending community, live distant abuse is therefore a way to not only acquire more CSEM, but to simultaneously generate material with a high ‘value’.

Online solicitation and sexual extortion. The growing number of children and teenagers who own smartphones has been accompanied by the production of self-generated indecent material. Such material, initially shared with innocent intent, often finds its way to “collectors”, who often proceed to exploit the victim, in particular by means of extortion.

Networking and forensic awareness of offenders. Offenders learn from the mistakes of those that have been apprehended by law enforcement.