Overview

• Proceedings began at the Mönchengladbach regional court against five men, ages 44 to 63, alleged to have moderated or administered a large Darknet forum.
• Prosecutors accuse the defendants of gang‑like dissemination and possession of child‑abuse material and say the forum enabled contacts that led to abuse.
• Investigators shut the platform down in September 2024 and seized extensive evidence in six German states, including more than 1,500 digital exhibits and 94 boxes of tapes and DVDs.
• The German Child Protection Association urged clear responsibilities and more law‑enforcement capacity to remove older content, calling deletion essential to trauma recovery.
• A federal report found roughly half of flagged content on German servers was removed within about two days, with foreign‑hosted material taking longer; police advise using platform report tools or contacting stations directly.