German Couple Sentenced for Selling Son Online2 min read

A German couple were sentenced to 12 years each at Freiburg Court for selling their son to Paedophiles on the dark web.

The trial began in June when the boy was aged nine and the couple have sexually abused the child themselves for at least two years. The boy’s mother had been sentenced to 12 years and five months as the authorities told her she committed one of the most brutal crimes in recent years.

Prosecutors were shocked upon discovering that the boy was abused in more than 60 serious sex attacks with most of them filmed and distributed on the dark web.

The child is now in custody of foster parents as the couple have been found guilty of rape, forced prostitution and distribution of child pornography.

This horrific breakthrough should come as a realisation that the authorities as well as the general public only hit the surface when it comes to identifying, preventing and prosecuting crime.

Though an effort is put in by cyber police world wide to close down malicious sites on the dark web, not enough is being done to cut the root as new sites pop up every day away from the mainstream.

Not only has it become a melting pot for traffickers, the dark web also harbours drugs and arms dealers which can easily be contacted through private browsers such as Tor.

On Monday, a Spanish man was sentenced to 10 years while five others have been sentenced in connection with the case.

In addition to the jail sentence, the couple will now have to pay £38,000 in damages to the boy as well as a young girl they abused.

The German child welfare authorities have also been criticised for letting this abuse continue despite having the boy in temporary custody with social workers.

Cracking down on these cases must be more efficient and the punishment for such crime should be more than what the German couple were given.

Photo by Mark Solarski on Unsplash