• 55 child victims of online sexual abuse identified and safeguarded, in Ireland in the last 15 months Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB) • 16 child victims of online sexual abuse identified and safeguarded in Ireland • 24 non-Irish child victims of online sexual abuse identified • 52 additional possible child victims of online sexual abuse identified globally • Children and parents warned of dangers of online activities Garda National Protective Services Bureau (GNPSB) • 39 child victims of online sexual abuse identified and safeguarded in Ireland Europol COSEC (Combatting Online Sexual Exploitation of Children) International Training course ongoing at the Garda College 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 being forensically examined by GNCCB. 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 also enable 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 cooperation with colleagues in the Garda National Protective Services Bureau and Divisional Protective Services Units around the country. 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 (ICSE) database – including almost 900 files while involve previously unknown victims. This will now support the potential identification of the child victims. The Online Child Exploitation Unit (ONCE), operating within the Garda National Protective Services Bureau (GNPSB), is a specialised and highly committed team tasked with combating crimes that target the most vulnerable members of our society - children. This unit plays a critical role in identifying, investigating, and disrupting online child exploitation activities, working tirelessly to safeguard victims and bringing offenders to justice. In 2025 the Online Child Exploitation Unit have identified and safeguarded a further 39 Irish Victims of Online Child Sexual Abuse. The online threat landscape targeting children is growing in both 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. Offenders are leveraging AI tools to produce hyper-realistic deep-fake images and videos often used to manipulate or blackmail children. In parallel, 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. These offenders are driven primarily by financial gain, making these offenders more difficult to identify and prosecute. Most disturbing is the 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. An Garda Síochána and Europol are currently hosting COSEC (Combatting Online Sexual Exploitation of Children) International Training course in the Garda College, Templemore. 38 law enforcement colleagues from 31 international jurisdictions including colleagues from across Europe, New Zealand, Australia and Brazil are here for 10 days to participate in training to enhance their skills in the investigation of online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse including Victim Identification. This is the 2nd year running that An Garda Síochána has hosted the COSEC International training course. Detective Chief Superintendent Colm Noonan, GNPSB said: "The Garda National Protective Services Bureau as the policy holders in An Garda Síochána for Victim Identification, consider this role one of the most critical areas of our work. Victim identification not only enables timely intervention and safeguarding measures, but also strengthens the legal process by providing concrete evidence to support prosecutions. This achievement underscores our commitment to placing the welfare of the child at the centre of every investigation and ensuring that no victim remains invisible.” "This work is carried out in close collaboration with GNCCB and our Divisional Protective Services Units ensuring a consistent and comprehensive response across all regions. This collaborative framework enables timely investigations, enhances intelligence sharing, and reinforces our commitment to protecting children from online harm. 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.” Detective Superintendent Michael Mullen of GNCCB said: "I would like to acknowledge the work of the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau’s Victim Identification Team who are extremely passionate, conscientious and committed to identifying, locating and safeguarding children who have been and, are still being subject of child sexual exploitation or abuse whether this is occurring here in Ireland or internationally. Whilst a number of investigations remain active, the prompt actions of the GNCCB Victim Identification Team, supported by GNPSB investigators and international Law Enforcement Partners, has served to ensure that the ongoing sexual abuse/exploitation of children has been stopped and that identified suspects are now subject of criminal investigation.” "Resulting from the work of the GNCCB Victim Identification Team is the emergence of a very important message for all users of electronic devices and online services, but particularly children, teenagers and their parents. 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." Detective Superintendent Michael Mullen provides the following advice: "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 off-line 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 Síochána. An Garda Síochána 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.” Examples: Case Study 1: In July 2025, as a result of analysis of Child Sexual Abuse Material, the GNCCB Victim Identification Team with the support of colleagues in GNPSB identified, located and safeguarded three children in Ireland. The children were being sexually exploited online by a suspect in a different jurisdiction. The prompt actions of the Victim Identification Team supported by GNPSB prevented the ongoing exploitation of the three children. Case Study 2: 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. Further information on online child exploitation is available on the Garda website:Online child exploitation - Garda | 