A 34-year-old doctor from North Zealand appeared genuinely remorseful as he explained his horrific actions in court in Hillerød on Wednesday. As a teenager, he developed an addiction to extreme pornography, culminating in repeated assaults on his own children, which he filmed. “I am so grateful to have been arrested and stopped, and that my children now have a chance for a better childhood,” the accused doctor stated regarding his arrest.

Prosecutor Bente Schnack presented a psychological evaluation to the jury, revealing that the doctor began viewing increasingly extreme pornography at the age of 12. A breakup with a girlfriend escalated his consumption, and he eventually sought treatment for his pedophilic tendencies. However, this treatment did not change his behaviors, even after he became a father.

The doctor admitted guilt on many of the nearly 100 charges against him but denied having violated the rape statute in several instances. In court, he described his arrest as feeling like “waking from a strange dream,” during which he had also lied to himself. “It is insane what I have done,” he expressed in court, voicing a desire for a prison sentence rather than institutional detention.

A larger police investigation revealed the doctor’s involvement in an international pedophile network known as Tarantula. Cooperation with the English police, who were monitoring the encrypted messaging service Wickr, led to his arrest as well as international arrests within the network, where perpetrators also abused and shared content involving their own children.

The doctor has been held in custody for over a year, and police are still working to access encrypted material from his computer. The indictment includes charges of rape, incest, and the production and distribution of child pornography. A verdict in the case is expected to be announced on Friday.