The number of people prosecuted for possessing child sexual abuse materials has increased four-fold over the past decade.

The DPP prosecuted 100 people for the crime last year – the highest number of people in at least 13 years.

According to Freedom of Information figures released to Newstalk, just 15 people were prosecuted for the crime in 2009 and 28 were prosecuted in 2012.

Dublin Rape Crisis Centre CEO Noeline Blackwell said international criminals are often behind the distribution of the images and videos.

“The whole area actually of online and indeed physical child sexual abuse is, very often, international,” she said.

“It is a lucrative trade for some criminals and so that cooperation between the Gardaí and other police forces is often a most important way of reducing it or stopping it.”

She said international cooperation is key to finding those responsible.

“Gardaí link to other police forces across Europe and across the world and very often these images are coming from people who as an industry are selling child sexual abuse images and they are selling them on to people in various countries,” she said.

The figures show that the number of child sexual abuse materials prosecution has been increasing every year since 2009.

There were 82 in 2017, 97 in 2020 and then 100 last year.

Meanwhile, the DPP decided to prosecute 163 people for rape last year, and 27 for murder.