A court in Germany has jailed a couple for selling their son to paedophiles online.
The court in Freiburg found that the boy, now 10, had been sold on the so-called darknet over a two-year period.
They sold him for several thousand euro in at least 60 separate identified acts of abuse, reports The Guardian.
The instances were filmed and sold on the darknet, a network online that requires special software.
They had also sexually abused the boy themselves, the court heard.
The abuses occurred between May 2015 and August 2017.
The couple, both of whom were unemployed, were convicted of rape, aggravated sexual assault of children, forced prostitution and distribution of child abuse images.
The boy’s mother was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison for her part in the abuses.
Her partner, a stepfather to the boy, was handed down a twelve-year sentence. He had a previous conviction for child abuse.
They were also ordered to pay the boy and another victim, a girl, €42,500 in damages.
Their sentences were slightly reduced as they had passed on information to investigators that helped to identify others involved in the case.
Six other men, including men from Spain and Switzerland who had paid to abuse the boy received sentences of between eight and 10 years.
The abuse was identified following an anonymous tip-off last year.
The case has raised questions in Germany about family services and child protection.
The boy is now in foster care.
