Dublin: More than 100 children have been identified and safeguarded by Garda specialist units since the start of 2024 amid a surge in online sexual exploitation cases.
Figures from the Garda National Protective Services Bureau (GNPSB) reveal that 73 Irish child victims were identified last year, while 39 have been safeguarded so far in 2025. Gardaí said victims are as young as five years old, warning that online threats are increasing in “scale and sophistication”.
The Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau’s Victim Identification Team has also identified 16 child victims in Ireland and 24 abroad, while 52 potential victims have been referred to international authorities. The team uploaded over 30,000 child sexual abuse files to an Interpol database, including 900 previously unknown cases.
Offenders are now using AI-generated deepfakes to create realistic abuse content, with Gardaí also reporting a rise in financial sextortion and sadistic online enticement via mainstream messaging apps.
In one case, Irish investigators helped German authorities rescue two children and arrest their father for sexual abuse after identifying material on an Irish suspect’s device.
Detective Superintendent Michael Mullen urged parents to remain vigilant:
“Children and teenagers with unrestricted internet access are at serious risk. Parents must understand this behaviour is happening online at an alarming scale.”
He advised victims not to give in to blackmail and to seek help from family or An Garda Síochána, stressing that people should act online as they would “in the offline world.”
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