Police raid 55 homes, warn 95 people in child pornography investigation

Last week, the police paid a visit to dozens of people caught possessing, downloading, or distributing child pornography. Police officers issued warnings to 95 people and searched 55 homes. “With the early visits, the police want to prevent these people from going another step further. The message is clear: stop downloading and seek help. Next time, you will be arrested,” the police said.

The police referred the suspects to the organization Stop It Now. They offer anonymous, confidential, and free support for people worried about their sexual feelings towards children. The people approached aren’t suspected of having or creating new child pornography or playing a role in distributing it on the dark web. “Nevertheless, the police take the possession of child pornographic material very seriously,” the police said on Monday, November 20 - the International Day of the Rights of the Child.

“We see that many people download and distribute images of child sexual abuse. With this behavior, they maintain demand. It is also known from science that people who start downloading can grow into abusers,” said Detective Annemiek van Noord of the National Unit’s Combating Child Pornography and Child Sex Tourism Team. “Through early intervention, we want to prevent these people from taking their activities a step further and thus posing a risk to children anywhere in the world.”

During the visits, the police searched 55 homes and seized over 400 data carriers. These suspects got more than a warning because, for example, the police have received multiple reports about them or they possessed child pornography on a larger scale. No arrests were made.

“In general, we mainly saw that the people were shocked but also relieved and admitted it,” Van Noord said. “For example, one person said they’ll use this warning as a new start. Another said that it was nice that he could finally talk to someone about it and that this was an incentive for him to seek help.”

If the warned people continue their activities, the police will launch a criminal investigation against them.