A married babysitter from Germany accused of sexually abusing 13 children faces life after he admitted all crimes in the latest court hearing.

Marcus R., 45, from the town of Wermelskirchen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany was in the middle of a live video conference when police stormed his home in December, 2021.

He was considered a suspect after inspectors identified him during a separate investigation into another paedophile in August 2021, named only as Soenke G.

Police in Berlin then began investigating Marcus R. after he chatted with the child abuser in the German capital online on the darknet, with the pair even allegedly abusing children together in at least three cases.

The ex-Bayer employee was arrested and cops seized his hard drive which contained 1.5 million videos and 3.5 million images pertaining to the rape of children.

The 45-year-old IT specialist, dubbed the ‘monster of Wermelskirchen’, had also set up a sinister encrypted online network for child molesters to keep tabs on his victims and on other abusers.

According to reports, the sick network listed at least 73 other paedophiles and their vile preferences, and kept records on exactly which offender had access to which victim.

To broaden his network of children, Marcus R. reportedly introduced himself to single parents of his alleged victims by offering his services as a babysitter through relevant childcare portals.

He reportedly sedated the children with sleeping pills, and abused them until they cried out in pain.

The offender also video recorded the abuse, which he later shared with other perverts on his network.

Marcus R. had reportedly abused more than 13 boys and girls aged between four weeks and 14 years, some of whom were said to be disabled.

The abuse reportedly happened between the beginning of 2005 until mid-2019.

Following his arrest, the District Court in Cologne charged Marcus R. with a total of 124 counts of child abuse.

During the most recent court hearing on Tuesday (6th December), Marcus R. admitted all of the crimes through his lawyer Christian Lange.

He also claimed that he sexually abused many more children than the indictment listed.

Lange said: “There are a variety of other acts.”

When asked how his own family is coping with the situation, one of the 45-year-old defendant’s attorneys said: The divorce is ongoing. What woman can endure something like that?”

The Public Prosecutor’s Office sought a 15-year-long sentence for Marcus R. followed by continued security confinement if he is convicted.

The trial continues.