A six-year-old boy living in the Irish Republic has been taken into state care following a Europol investigation into child sexual abuse that appeared to identify where he was living.
The Garda Síochána raided a house in Co Tipperary after being contacted by Europol colleagues, it emerged on Thursday.
According to reports in the Irish media, detectives were able to link the online abuse to a specific address in the county in southern Ireland.
There are fears that the boy, who after a closed court hearing in Tipperary last week was placed in care, was being abused and filmed by members of his family.
One officer connected to the investigation told the Irish media on Thursday that it was “the worst case we’ve ever dealt with”. He said the film “involves the absolutely horrific treatment of a child”.
The court order granted Gardaí and social workers the power to take the boy away from the adults he was living with and authorise an urgent medical examination.
Investigating officers discovered a number of items, including “implements and blankets”, which were visible on film footage that their Europol counterparts first passed on to the Irish force at the end of last year.
Experts in anti-child-abuse investigations from 11 police agencies in nine countries were involved in Europol’s operation, which has traced a number of victims.
Europol co-ordinated the Tipperary operation with the Garda Síochána’s Paedophile Investigation Unit.
It was confirmed on Thursday that two people have been charged and are to appear before court in connection with the investigation.
In a statement, the Garda Síochána said: “For operational reasons we are making no further comment.”
