A German man arrested on suspicion of the rape of 29 children over 1,000 times in a caravan park has been pictured for the first time – lying next to his foster daughter who he reportedly used as bait to prey on other children.
Andreas V., 56, is said to have used his seven-year-old foster daughter to lure young girls and boys to his run-down holiday home at the Eichwald caravan park in Luegde, in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
He is also said to have raped the girl, reportedly the daughter of his ex-wife who local youth welfare office trusted him to take care of after they split.
The first photograph of the man accused of over 1000 instances of child rape, Andreas V., with his seven-year-old foster daughter. She was also reportedly raped by him and used as bait to lure in other young boys and girls
According to the public prosecutor’s office, Andreas V. committed more than 1,000 acts of rape over the past decade, despite the fact that police and youth welfare authorities received several warnings about his behaviour.
According to German newspaper Bild, Andreas V. is alleged to have used his foster daughter to lure in more victims by making a ‘comfortable’ environment in which the children felt safe.
He was also allegedly known locally as being ‘overly friendly with children’ and often took youngsters on day-trips he organised.
Another 33-year-old man, whose name has not been reported, was arrested on suspicion of the mass rapes.
Eichwald caravan park in Luegde, in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the alleged abuse took place
Andreas V. and another 33-year-old man allegedly carried out more than 1000 rapes of 29 children at the campsite
The pair allegedly got in contact a third man, 46, over the dark web, who has since been arrested on suspicion of ordering the abuse of the children.
A police spokesman said that during raids of the suspects’ homes the cops found more than 13,000 images of child pornography.
At Andreas V’s campsite – which was described as being piled high with waste and a dis-used caravan – they found more than 14 terabytes of material.
The first warnings about the mass child abuse, which allegedly began in 2008 and lasted until Andreas V. was caught in December 2018, were passed on to the authorities in 2016.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, Andreas V. is accused of raping 29 children more than 1,000 times since 2008, despite the fact that police and youth welfare authorities received several warnings about his behaviour
Even though the Hamelin youth office criticised the dire living conditions at the caravan park, they found that otherwise ‘everything was alright’
Since then, Jens Ruzsitska has come forward to say that his daughters were victims of Andreas V., and that he went to both the police and the Child Protection Association in 2016, but nothing was done.
Ruzsitska said he saw Andreas V. grope some children at a birthday party in the town of Bad Pyrmont in the state of Lower Saxony, but nothing was done with his testimony.
‘He often grabbed between the children’s legs and said disgusting things,’ the father-of-two said.
Ruzsitska hit Andreas V. in the face and immediately left the party. However, when he reported what he saw to the police he said he was told it was better not to pursue it as he himself could be sued for slander.
‘They assured me that everything was alright,’ he added.
Andreas V, 56, was arrested at this campsite in eastern Germany in December and accused of abusing around 29 children here over the last 10 years
Officers have since arrested a 33-year-old man they accuse of participating in the abuse and a 46-year-old who they say bought videos of the attacks (pictured, Andreas’s campsite)
Police who raided the run-down campsite, where Andreas had lived for more than 30 years, say they found 14 terabytes of child porn, amounting to 13,000 videos
The police forwarded the alert to the youth welfare office in Lippe and did not start an investigation. Chief prosecutor Ralf Vetter said: ‘We are now investigating whether the police should have taken further steps.’
The youth welfare office of Hamelin in Lower Saxony was also alerted to possible sexual abuse when workers from the local job centre called to ask for an investigation after Andreas V. visited with foster daughter because he needed money.
One of the job centre workers reportedly found it suspicious that the girl had said she could no longer stand the smell of men.
According to local media, in a joint meeting with job centre workers Andreas V. reportedly even said that his foster daughter would ‘turn him on’.
The local prosecutor’s office has also announced an investigation into the police after it was discovered that a worried father reported the abuse in 2016, but nothing was done
Police accuse Andreas of using his foster daughter to lure in more victims and of trying to create an environment where the children felt ‘comfortable’ so he could attack them
He reportedly said that ‘the girl would do everything’ for sweets.
Karl-Eitel John of the youth welfare office said that ‘at the time no sexual abuse could be detected’.
Even though the Hamelin youth office criticised the dire living conditions at the caravan park, they found that otherwise ‘everything was alright’.
The public prosecutor’s office of Detmold has confirmed that both the police and two different youth welfare offices received tips about the alleged sexual abuse.
The prosecutors started an official investigation into whether or not the massive child pornography ring could not have been stopped earlier.
The entire property – which is littered with trash but includes several children’s toys such as a trampoline and multiple bikes – has been cordoned off
Andreas V, who is unemployed, moved to the campsite 30 years ago where he lived with his elderly mother for a time before she died.
He was previously married, though it is not clear to whom, or when his ex-wife left him.
The 46-year-old man who allegedly ordered the abuse of the children via the dark web has reportedly partially confessed to the crimes during interrogations, while the others have stayed silent.
Investigations are ongoing.
Andreas was accused of being ‘overly friendly with children’ and organised day-trips for them to go on with him, German media reported