Europol called on the public to assist in probing instances of child abuse

Europol called on the public to assist in probing instances of child abuse

Europol said 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 said the exchange of child sexual abuse material is growing and increasingly aided by AI tools. The agency appealed to the public to use its “Stop Child Abuse – Trace an Object” platform to help identify clues from abuse cases, saying even the smallest detail could help rescue a child.