Germany registers shocking number of child abuse cases

German criminal statistics for the year 2018 were released on Thursday, and police say they paint a very dark picture.

According to the report, 136 children were violently killed in 2018 — with 80% of victims under the age of 6. Another 98 children were also the victims of attempted killings.

Police also uncovered 7,449 cases of the production and distribution of child pornography in 2018, a 14%

increase over 2017.

The BKA says the uncovering of such cases was due in large part to international cooperation.

In early May, for instance, US law enforcement alerted German authorities to a string of images that allowed the police to use "technical means" to locate and arrest perpetrators.

Authorities, however, say German privacy laws that prohibit the storage of IP addresses have hindered many attempts to uncover such crimes.