Dismantling of a vast Internet child pornography network with more than 400,000 members in Germany: One of the largest in the world

Steph Deschamps / May 3, 2021

The dismantling of the BOYSTOWN platform, which had existed since 2019, took place in mid-April, according to a police statement.

Three Germans were arrested after a months-long investigation by a special unit of the German police under the coordination of Europol and with the collaboration of the Dutch, Swedish, Australian, American and Canadian police.

Another, who resides in Paraguay, is the subject of an international arrest warrant on the basis of which he is expected to be handed over to German authorities. The police did not reveal their identities.

The platform had an international reach and was used for the exchange of underage pornography between its members, mainly photos or videos of abuse perpetrated on boys.

Among them were images of serious sexual abuse of very young children, the police said.

Three of the suspects, aged 40, 49 and 58 respectively, are suspected of being the administrators of the child pornography platform. In addition to managing the network, they were in charge of following up on clients, the police said.

The fourth, a 64-year-old man, is suspected of having been one of the most active users of the platform, posting more than 3,500 messages.