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<strong>Child</strong> PornograPhy First report oF the Dutch NatioNal rapporteur
Code, it can also serve as evidence that the abuse actually took place. The provision of evidence can often
prove difficult in sexual abuse cases. 253
In accordance with the Implementation Provisions concerning child pornography, the identification
of victims and perpetrators of sexual abuse and the production of child abuse material must form the
primary focus in the detection of this material and the prosecution in such cases. Possession of child
abuse material (and child erotica) may serve as cases with a chance of conviction for potential abuse
and production. 254 In practice however, it is not possible or scarcely possible to assess the nature of
the investigation in the first stage (does it involve a distributor, producer, or a possessor of child abuse
material?). The nature (distribution, production or possession) of the case under investigation can only
be established later on, once all data storage media have been read. It is therefore not an easy task to
prioritise those investigations that offer the greatest likelihood of identifying victims. The forthcoming
sections will describe how the investigative authorities deal with this issue.
Images and Internet Team KLPD/IPOL
The Images and Internet Team [Team Beeld en Internet, hereinafter referred to as TBI] operated by the KLPD/
IPOL acts as an information hub within the entire detection chain. The purpose of the TBI is to identify
victims and trace the perpetrators of child pornography. 255 Staff in the team manage the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Child</strong>
<strong>Pornography</strong> Database, investigate reports of child abuse material on the Internet and coordinate information
relating to child pornography and paedosexual offences. 256 The division also has access to
various national and international databases, which enable data to be combined and investigations
to be conducted at national and international level into potential links to other investigations. 257 The
(unprocessed) indicators of child abuse material are received by the TBI, in addition to all other indicators
in relation to such material, such as a suspect who has committed an act of sexual abuse and is also
potentially in possession of child abuse material. Cases are received through a total of five points of
entry, which are as follows:
a. Hundreds of requests for investigation arrive from other countries every year, and these also give rise
to hundreds of investigations (see later in this section).
b. The TBI also receives and handles reports of distribution of child abuse material on the Internet in
the broadest sense of the term. The Hotline Combating <strong>Child</strong> <strong>Pornography</strong> on the Internet 258 also
supplies these reports, sending more than one thousand reports every year. 259
c. The TBI conducts its own investigations into child abuse images and paedosexual networks. As part
253 Van Wijk & Nieuwenhuis, 2011.
254 Implementation provisions concerning child pornography (Article 240b of the Dutch Criminal Code),
2010A025, Dutch Government Gazette, 2 December 2011, no. 19121.
255 Implementation Provisions concerning child pornography (Article 240b of the Dutch Criminal Code),
2010A025, Dutch Government Gazette, 2 December 2011, no.19121.
256 Van der Zee & Groeneveld, 2007.
257 Implementation Provisions concerning child pornography (Article 240b of the Dutch Criminal Code),
2010A025, Dutch Government Gazette, 2 December 2011, no.19121.
258 The Hotline Combating <strong>Child</strong> <strong>Pornography</strong> on the Internet is a privately-run initiative.
259 <strong>National</strong> <strong>Child</strong> <strong>Pornography</strong> Expertise Centre [Landelijk Expertisecentrum Kinderporno], Public Prosecution
Service and Police, 2010 (not publicly available).