'Paedophiles' accused of raping 23 children as young as four more than 1,000 times at a caravan park and filming their attacks for child porn ring are arrested in Germany
- Andreas V, 56, arrested last month after alleged child abuse at German campsite
- Now two more men, aged 33 and 46, have been arrested as part of the same ring
- Trio are accused of abusing at least 23 children aged between four and 13 on more than 1,000 occasions over the course of 10 years
- Officers seized 13,000 child porn videos the men distributed on the Dark Web
- Local police are also under investigation for failing to take action sooner
Three men suspected of running a Dark Web child porn ring have been accused of abusing at least 23 children over 10 years at a German campsite.
Police arrested main suspect Andreas V., 56, last month but have since arrested a 33-year-old who they accuse of assisting in the abuse and a 46-year-old accused of buying videos of the abuse online.
The local prosecutor's office has also launched an investigation into state police after it emerged the abuse was reported in 2016 but nothing was done.
Andreas V, 56, was arrested at this campsite in eastern Germany in December and accused of abusing at least 23 children here over the last 10 years
Officers have since arrested a 33-year-old man they accuse of participating in the abuse and a 46-year-old who they say bought videos of the attacks (pictured, Andreas's campsite)
Police who raided the run-down campsite, where Andreas had lived for more than 30 years, say they found 14 terabytes of child porn, amounting to 13,000 videos
Andreas V, who is unemployed, moved to the campsite 30 years ago where he lived with his elderly mother for a time before she died, Bild reported.
He is also thought to have been married at one point, though it is not clear to whom, or when the marriage fell apart.
Prosecutors say that the abuse began in 2008 and lasted until he was caught in December 2018 and included more than 1,000 individual attacks.
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He is thought to have abused at least 23 children in that time, including his own seven-year-old foster daughter who he adopted from his wife after she left him, according to WDR.
Bild reports that he used the girl in order to lure in more victims by making a 'comfortable' environment in which the children felt safe.
The man was known locally as being 'overly friendly with children' and often took youngsters on day-trips he organised.
At some point he met the 33-year-old suspect, police say, who then helped him carry out the abuse.
The local prosecutor's office has also announced an investigation into the police after it was discovered that a worried father reported the abuse in 2016, but nothing was done
Police accuse Andreas of using his foster daughter to lure in more victims and of trying to create an environment where the children felt 'comfortable' so he could attack them
The entire property - which is littered with trash but includes several children's toys such as a trampoline and multiple bikes - has been cordoned off
The two men then got in contact with the 46-year-old man over the Dark Web, who began ordering videos of the abuse from them, police say.
When officers raided Andreas V's campsite - which was described as being piled high with waste and a dis-used caravan - they found more than 14 terabytes of material amounting to some 13,000 videos of abuse.
Since then, father Jens R. has come forward to say that his two daughters were victims of Andreas and that he went to police and the Child Protection Association in 2016, but nothing was done.
They assured me that everything was alright with the permanent camper. I should be careful with my comments, because I could be sued for slander,' he said according to Tz.
Jens also raised further concerns, saying the man claimed to have worked at a children's village and swimming pool, opening up more children to abuse.
Officers are now believed to be investigating whether there are even more victims.
Chief prosecutor Ralf Vetter confirmed that in 2016 the district police received statements from two witnesses about the potential sexual abuse of one child, who at the time lived as a foster child in the caravan park home of one of the suspects.
Officers are hunting for more victims after a local man said Andreas spoke to him about working at a swimming pool and children's village
Andreas was known locally as being 'overly friendly with children' and organised day-trips for them to go on with him, German media reported
The police forwarded the alert to the youth welfare office in Lippe and did not start an investigation.
Vetter said: 'We are now investigating whether the police should have taken further steps.'
More clues about the massive child abuse case were reported to the youth welfare office of Hamelin in Lower Saxony when workers at the local job centre called the office to ask for an investigation after the main suspect had appeared in the company of his foster daughter because he needed money.
One of the job centre workers found it suspicious that the girl had said she could no longer stand the smell of men.
Karl-Eitel John of the youth welfare office said that 'at the time no sexual abuse could be detected'.
Even though the Hamelin youth office criticised the dire living conditions at the caravan park, they found that otherwise 'everything was alright'.
According to the police, the 48-year-old suspect has already confessed to the crimes while the two others have remained silent.
Investigations are ongoing.
