What is known about the victims of the abuse cases?
At a campsite in Lügde near Detmold in North Rhine-Westphalia, at least 23 children between the ages of 4 and 13 years have been sexually abused over a period of ten years. The investigators assume more than 1000 individual data. Johannes-Wilhelm Rörig, Federal Government Commissioner for Sexual Abuse Issues, spoke in the "Westfalen-Blatt" about a "monstrous case".
The victims are mostly girls, "mostly from the campsite environment," said Gunnar White, head of the investigation team. How high the dark figure is, one can not say reputable at present.
A spokesman said on Thursday morning, the police have indeed received new evidence, but there is no new victim. "We give a high priority to victim protection and victim aftercare," said Achim Tietz, head of the responsible criminal investigation commission. "We offered appropriate assistance for the children, for affected relatives, but also for our colleagues of the investigative commission" Camping "."
What do you know about the suspects?
Three men are in custody: The main suspect, 56-year-old Andreas V. from Lügde, was arrested in December, two other suspects, a 33-year-old from Steinheim near Höxter and a 48-year-old from Stade in Lower Saxony, in early January.
Andreas V. and the 33-year-old are said to have abused and filmed the children. According to investigators, the 48-year-old was a customer of the child pornography material. He is said to have instigated the other two men to further acts. They should have exchanged themselves over the Darknet.
The investigators are based on other perpetrators. It was at least unlikely that the material was not passed on to other people, they said on Wednesday.
Who is the main suspect Andreas V.?
The investigators According to the unemployed Andreas V. 2016 foster father of a girl has become, which is today eight years old and should also belong to the victims. Since that time, apparently, most of the attacks occurred.
Andreas V. was supposed to have made contact with other children through the girl, for example with trips to the swimming pool. He had created "an atmosphere in which the children initially felt comfortable," said investigator Tietz. As the Detmold chief prosecutor Ralf Vetter said, Andreas V. had also built pressure: "He threatened that something would happen if you reveal yourself."
The parents of Andreas V. had come to the campsite over 30 years ago and had acquired a plot there, said the campsite operator Frank Schäfsmeier. After the death of his mother, Andreas V. took over the parcel, which looked "questionable". Neighbors complained about the mess. However, there have never been rumors of abuse at the campsite.
Andreas V. had been renting an apartment in the village for some time, but most of the time he spent at the campsite.
What are the investigations now focusing on?
In addition to the investigations against the three men, the police pursued two more strands: First, it is about the distribution of child pornography on the Internet. The investigators provided evidence with a data volume of 14 terabytes. Only a part of the photos and videos should have been created in Lügde. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has identified material from other cases.
On the other hand, the prosecutor Detmold determined against several employees of the youth welfare offices of the district of Lippe and the district of Hameln-Pyrmont in Lower Saxony. "We check whether the authorities have made mistakes," said the Detmold Attorney Vetter. It is about a possible violation of the care or educational obligation under section 171 StGB. The background to this is the question of when there were hints that questioned the suitability of Andreas V. as a foster-father - and how these hints were followed up.
Are there demands from politics?
The Abuse Commissioner of the Federal Government affirmed on Thursday his demand for a reporting obligation for Internet service providers. If they came across child pornography material, they should report it to the BKA, said Johannes-Wilhelm Rörig the "Westfalen-Blatt".
The commissioner had already demanded the introduction of such a reporting obligation for German providers last June. At that time, Rörig explained that reports on misrepresentations in Germany so far came mainly from the US Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), because in the US a statutory reporting requirement applies.