Several men in Frankfurt have been accused of allegedly operating an online platform with child pornography.
The Darknet platform called "BoysTown" was internationally oriented and served the worldwide exchange of images that primarily documented the sexual abuse of boys, the Attorney General said on Friday.
By the time investigators shut it down in April 2021, more than 400,000 members of the platform had written more than a million forum posts.
Four men aged between 41 and 65 were charged.
They were suspected of gang-like distribution of child and youth pornography, the production of child pornography and sometimes serious sexual abuse of children, the authority said.
The accused are in custody.
The exchanged child pornographic image and video files also included recordings of the most severe sexual abuse of children.
Further investigations
A 49-year-old from the district of Mühldorf am Inn and a 59-year-old from northern Germany are said to have been in charge of setting up the platform in the summer of 2019.
The 49-year-old is said to have abused two children in at least 17 cases, some of them severely.
In other cases, he is said to have taken pictures and video recordings.
The 59-year-old was extradited from Paraguay in October 2021.
A 41-year-old suspect from the Paderborn district is said to have worked administratively and as a moderator on the platform, and he is also accused of severe abuse of two children in 25 cases.
A 65-year-old from Hamburg was also accused of being one of the most active users of the platform.
Other members of the platform will continue to be investigated.