German police find missing boy while searching man’s home in child pornography investigation

German police found a teenage boy Friday, more than two years after he was reported missing, while searching the apartment of a man suspected of child pornography offenses, according to multiple reports.

The boy, 15, was found in a closet as authorities searched a home in the German city of Recklinghausen, CNN reported. A spokesman for police told the news network the boy had been reported missing two and a half years ago.

In a statement obtained by The Associated Press, police said, “There is no indication the boy was held in the apartment against his will.”

Two men who were in the apartment when the boy was found, identified as the 44-year-old suspect and an older man, were taken into custody Friday, according to CNN. In a statement obtained by the news network, police said the 44-year-old was charged with “a serious sexual offense” while the other suspect was released.

Authorities told the AP the 15-year-old boy had been living in a shelter in a nearby town in 2017 when social workers reported him missing. He was taken into police protection Friday, the AP reported.

Authorities continue to investigate.

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