Europol operation identifies 51 victims of child abuse, issues 213 investigative leads

22 September 2025 , 17:16

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Europol operation identifies 51 victims of child abuse, issues 213 investigative leads

Europol announced Monday that a two-week operation at its headquarters helped identify 51 children who had been sexually abused.

The 17th edition of its Victim Identification Task Force, held September 8–19, brought together 27 experts from Europol, Interpol, and 22 countries to review more than 300 datasets of child sexual exploitation material. Following the operation, national authorities received 213 leads for further investigation.

Since the task force’s launch in 2014, authorities have safeguarded more than 1,000 victims and arrested over 300 offenders. Europol stated that the exchange of child sexual abuse material is growing and increasingly facilitated by AI tools. The agency urged the public to use its “Stop Child Abuse – Trace an Object” platform to help identify clues from abuse cases, noting that even the smallest detail could help rescue a child.

Elizabeth Baker

Technology & Business Editor