The trial of a 45-year-old man who posed as a babysitter to track down his victims in a major child sex abuse case began in Cologne on Tuesday.
The man faces nearly 100 charges of sexual abuse for offences committed between 2005 and 2019.
To contact families, he posed as a babysitter on online platforms.
The married man from the town of Jermelskerschen near Cologne allegedly exchanged photos of child pornography and videos of "unimaginable cruelty" with a large number of men.
Prosecutors are seeking up to 15 years in prison for the defendant, whose lawyer announced before the trial that he would plead guilty.
The case loomed large as it led to numerous further investigations against other defendants.
Stiff sentences
In a separate case in Frankfurt yesterday, stiff sentences were handed down to four defendants for their involvement in an online child pornography platform known as Boystown.
A 49-year-old man from the southern state of Bavaria was sentenced to twelve years in prison and a 42-year-old man from the northern city of Paderborn to 10.5 years.
Both men were charged with aggravated sexual abuse of children and rape, in addition to their involvement in the platform and will therefore be placed in preventive detention after serving their sentences.
Another defendant - a 60-year-old man arrested in Paraguay - was sentenced to eight years in prison, while a 66-year-old man from Hamburg was sentenced to seven years.
Investigators managed to take down the platform last year. It was the largest online child pornography platform, with 400,000 users from around the world.
Source: APE-MPA
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
