Overview
- Basque police (Ertzaintza) arrested a 71-year-old man in Azpeitia following a court-authorized home search that uncovered about 110,000 photo and video files of child sexual abuse on multiple electronic devices.
- Officers said the material totals roughly 280 gigabytes and that units from the Ertzain-etxea of Urola-Kosta and the Ertzaintza’s cyber-coordination division took part in the operation.
- Authorities reported the suspect had prior arrests in 2011 for corruption of minors and in 2014 for child pornography, and he was presented to judicial authorities after the search.
- Investigators say the man allegedly held access codes and user credentials linked to networks or apps used to share such material and police are working to trace those accounts.
- Next steps include detailed digital forensics to identify victims in the files and to locate any other people involved, a process that can take weeks and may lead to broader prosecutions and victim support referrals.