Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - In the trial against four alleged operators of the child pornographic platform "Boystown" on the dark web, the public prosecutor's office has demanded preventive detention for two of the four accused. After the closing speeches, which were held in camera, the 49-year-old alleged operator of the platform is to be jailed for twelve years and then held in preventive custody, a spokesman for the prosecution said on Monday. The defense of the man from the Mühldorf am Inn district had asked for an eight-year prison sentence without preventive detention before the Frankfurt Regional Court on Monday.

According to the Attorney General's Office, a 42-year-old suspect is to be sentenced to eleven years and six months in prison with subsequent preventive detention. The defense pleaded for an "appropriate punishment" without a specific penalty, but without preventive detention. Both men are accused not only of operating the platform and controlling posts, but also of serious sexual violence against children.

For a 60-year-old man, the Attorney General's Office called for an eight-year prison sentence. A 66-year-old suspect who is said to have been a particularly active user of the platform is to be sentenced to six years in prison. For these two men, the pleadings of the defense were still pending on Monday afternoon. The verdict is expected on Wednesday.

The Boystown platform had more than 400,000 members from all over the world. When the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor's Office shut down the platform in April 2021, there were more than a million forum posts there.