| 51 children identified during international taskforce against child sexual exploitation Over 20 countries participated in the operation hosted at Europol’s headquarters in The Hague Published on: 22 Sep 2025 A total of 51 sexually abused children were identified during the 17th edition of the Victim Identification Task Force (VIDTF17). The operation took place over the course of two weeks, from 8 to 19 September 2025, at Europol’s headquarters. 27 experts from Europol, INTERPOL, and 22 countries worldwide worked shoulder to shoulder to analyse images of unidentified abused children, to identify and safeguard them.The experts participating in the task force analysed over 300 datasets depicting victims of child sexual exploitation (CSE). The analysts saw victims of both genders, from toddlers to teenagers, with a variety of ethnic backgrounds and of many different nationalities. Following the operation, national authorities were sent 213 leads for further investigation.Catherine De BolleEuropol Executive DirectorChild sexual abuse material may be created in a single room, yet spread instantly across the world, inflicting lifelong trauma on children. Through advanced analysis, digital forensics and close international cooperation, Europol can sometimes locate the very room where abuse has taken place. But too often, we stand outside that door, knowing what happened inside yet lacking the key to rescue the child. The 17th edition of Europol’s Victim Identification Taskforce was a remarkable success. Yet we must ask ourselves: How many more children could we have safeguarded if we had the right digital tools and the right keys? That is why we must not confine ourselves to old ways of thinking. We must take bold and innovative steps to protect every child we canGrowing CSAM and sophisticated tools: A race against the clockThe Victim Identification Task Force (VIDTF) was first organised in 2014. Since then, the number of analysed datasets has increased exponentially, alongside Europol’s database, which was created in 2006 and now holds over 111 million unique photos and videos of child sexual exploitation.In addition to the growing volume of images, the exchange of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) now appears to be much more frequent than in the past, likely due to the accessibility and large storage capacity of mobile phones. In parallel, AI-generated CSAM has become one of the main ways offenders produce, acquire and store such material.Over the years, offenders have also gained access to more sophisticated tools and resources. Today, they even share tutorials on dark web forums explaining how to create hyper-realistic AI-generated CSAM.Over 1 000 victims safeguarded by bringing partners together National authorities often lack the tools and human resources to cope with the amount of CSAM being created and disseminated. This is why the Victim Identification Task Force is so valuable in the fight against child sexual exploitation: It brings together experts of multiple nationalities, facilitates communication and strengthens cooperation between law enforcement agencies worldwide.Over the previous sixteen VIDTF editions, authorities safeguarded a total of 1 010 victims, arrested 301 offenders, analysed 8 005 datasets and disseminated 2 266 intelligence packages to Europol’s partners. One of the most memorable success stories took place in September 2024, during the 15th VIDTF held at Europol’s headquarters. One of the investigators analysed a video depicting brutal sexual abuse of a five-year-old, committed by an adult male. As the details in the video were insufficient to identify the subjects or the country where it was produced, further checks were made against Europol’s databases. This led to the discovery of a second video depicting the same subjects engaged in similar acts. When the cross-checks performed pointed to France, French specialists participating in the VIDTF took over the analysis, while their colleagues in France initiated an investigation. The victim depicted in both videos was identified and safeguarded, and the offender was arrested.Further investigations revealed that the suspect had sexually abused and tortured two other victims, aged two years and six months, alongside four other men. The five offenders had met in groups hosted on end-to-end encrypted platforms. They had also recorded themselves abusing the three children and shared the files online. All the victims were rescued and safeguarded.Europol’s call: Trace an ObjectEuropol has recently released new pictures to the platform “Stop Child Abuse – Trace an Object”, which calls on all citizens to examine objects from child sexual abuse cold cases and see if they recognise any of them. No clue is too small: Even the smallest detail could help identify and safeguard a sexually abused child.The main goal is to trace the origin of the depicted objects. Anyone who recognises one can provide information to Europol anonymously. Once the country or location is identified, Europol will inform the competent law enforcement authority to investigate further. The aim is to speed up the identification of both the victim and the offender.The following partners took part in the Victim Identification Task Force 17: Australia: Australian Federal Police (AFP)Belgium: Federal Police BelgiumBulgaria: Cybercrime Directorate (GDCOC)Canada: Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)Croatia: Criminal Police Directorate, National Cybercrime DepartmentDenmark: Danish National Police – National Cyber Crime CenterEstonia: Police and Border Guard BoardPolice nationale (Office Mineurs – Protection des mineurs), Gendarmerie nationale (Centre de lutte contre les criminalités numériques)Germany: Federal Criminal Police OfficeIreland: An Garda SíochánaItaly: State Police (Polizia di Stato- Servizio Polizia Postale- C.N.C.P.O.)Malta: Malta Police Force (Il-Korp tal- Pulizija ta’ Malta)Netherlands: National Police (Politie)Norway: KRIPOS (NCIS)Poland: Central Cybercrime BureauRomania: Police Directorate for Countering Organised CriminalitySerbia: Service for Combating High-Tech Crime, Directorate of PoliceSlovakia: Cybercrime Unit, National Center for Specific Crimes, Presidium of the Police ForceSpain: National Police (Policía Nacional)Sweden: Police AuthorityUK: National Crime Agency (NCA)USA: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security InvestigationsINTERPOLNote to mediaEuropol encourages you to use the term ‘child (sexual) abuse material’ and not ‘child pornography’ in your reporting.The use of the term ‘child pornography’ helps child sex abusers as it indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim, and therefore legality on the part of the sex abuser. By using the phrase ‘child pornography’, it conjures up images of children posing in ‘provocative’ positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse. Every photograph or video captures an actual situation where a child has been abused. This is not pornography. |
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