A woman and her partner, who are accused of allowing their son, now aged 9, to be sexually abused by men they found online, went on trial in the south-west German city of Freiburg on Monday.
The pair are to answer to charges of rape and forced prostitution in almost 50 instances, public prosecutor, Nikola Novak, said.
The 48-year-old mother and her partner, a 39-year-old man, stand accused of offering the boy up for sex online over a two-year period to men from Germany and abroad as well as sexually abusing him themselves.
“The mother’s partner has given a comprehensive confession and given information to investigators,” Novak said before the trial opened.
Another trial involving the same case also began on Monday in Karlsruhe, western Germany, with the suspect accused of enquiring with the 39-year-old partner on the darknet if he could sexually abuse the boy and then kill him.
There are a total of eight suspects in the trial. Two men have so far been sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
Many of the crimes were recorded by the abusers on film – in footage that is now being used as evidence against them. (dpa/NAN)