Gardai identify 55 child sex abuse victims amid ‘sadistic rise’ in online threat

Fifty-five child victims of online sexual abuse have been identified and safeguarded by gardai in Ireland in the last 15 months.

As part of an update on ongoing investigations into online child sexual abuse, gardai said online threats targeting children are growing in “scale and sophistication”, presenting unprecedented challenges for law enforcement.

Risks now extend beyond traditional concerns such as online grooming, cyberbullying, and exposure to inappropriate content, encompassing more insidious forms of exploitation through social media and gaming platforms.

Gardai said offenders are leveraging AI tools to produce hyper-realistic deep-fake images and videos often used to manipulate or blackmail children.

At the same, financial sexual extortion has emerged as a rapidly escalating threat, where perpetrators coerce minors into sharing explicit material and subsequently demand payment to prevent its release.

Gardai said the “most disturbing” trend is a “rise in sadistic online enticement”, where violent groups exploit children via mainstream messaging platforms, coercing them into acts of self-harm or abuse while reinforcing psychological control.

In one example, gardai found three children in Ireland being sexually exploited online by a suspect in a different jurisdiction.

In another case in August 2024, as a result of material found on a device seized from an Irish suspect, a referral was forwarded to law enforcement colleagues in Germany.

This resulted in the identification, location and safeguarding of two children in Germany and the arrest of their father for sexual abuse and exploitation.

Since July 2024, the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB) specialist victim identification team has been reviewing Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation videos and images in an effort to identify victims in Ireland and globally.

This content was extracted from electronic devices forensically examined by GNCCB.

Detective Superintendent Michael Mullen of GNCCB said warned: “Children and teenagers who have an electronic device with uncontrolled access to the online environment need to be aware of the danger of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse along with the very serious harm that both will cause.

“Parents need to realise that such behaviour is happening online on an alarming scale.”

Working closely with colleagues in the Garda National Protective Service Bureau and forensic units in Europe and globally, the victim identification team has access to a range of resources that help identify known child sexual abuse content, and that also enables it to highlight new material where a possible victim can be saved from abuse.

Over the past year, 40 child victims of sexual abuse have been identified across the globe, including 16 victims living in Ireland who were identified in co-operation with colleagues in the Garda National Protective Services Bureau and Divisional Protective Services Units around the country.

Detective Chief Superintendent Colm Noonan, GNPSB said: “Protecting children in the digital age requires a unified and proactive approach, the safety of our children extends beyond our streets and into the online world.”

An additional 52 possible victims of sexual abuse have been tentatively identified and information provided to local, European and global law enforcement agencies to assist in the identification, location and safeguarding of them.

More than 30,000 videos and photographs defined as Child Sex Abuse Material (CSAM) have been reviewed by the team and uploaded to Interpol’s International Child Sexual Exploitation database – including almost 900 files which involve previously unknown victims – which will support the potential identification of the child victims.

The Online Child Exploitation Unit, operating within the GNPSB, is a specialised and highly committed team tasked with combating crimes that target children.

The unit identified and safeguarded a further 39 Irish victims of online child sexual abuse so far this year.

Mr Mullen said: “It is imperative that children and teenagers do not engage with strangers online, don’t ever create and/or share intimate content, don’t give in to blackmail and don’t tolerate any behaviour that would not be tolerated in the offline world in daily physical interactions, just because it occurs online.

“Most importantly, if any child/teenager is a victim of any unwanted or inappropriate online engagement of a sexual nature, it is imperative that they please talk to someone immediately, whether that is a parent, relative, friend or a member of An Garda Siochana. An Garda Siochana are here to listen and help.”

“For parents, my advice is to talk to your child about the online environment, help them understand the dangers, monitor and be aware of your child’s online activities and be available to listen and help if your support is required.”