He is said to have abused toddlers in more than 30 cases: Today, a judgment against a 27-year-old is expected before the district court in Kleve. What started in Bergisch Gladbach led to nationwide investigations.
By Jan Koch, WDR
The first verdict is due today: against a soldier from the Lower Rhine. The district court in Kleve has been hearing his indictment and has been on trial there since mid-May. On one of the first days of the trial, he described the first attack on his then two-year-old daughter. It happened at the changing table. According to his stories, he always uses the time when his wife is not at home.
But he doesn’t stay alone. He shares his actions in chat with a partner. The demand that a boy should also be there. His stepson, who was five years old at the time, also became a victim. The accused is said to have committed his own niece and the daughter of the man from Bergisch Gladbach, by whom the investigation was triggered. According to the court, three of the abused children are co-plaintiffs in the proceedings. Sexual abuse in more than 30 cases – the prosecutor accuses him. Just like for the production of child pornographic material.
First arrests in late October
It’s the end of October 2019: A tip from Canada gets the investigators on the track. Unlike in Germany, Internet providers have to report there if they come across child pornography material. Police and public prosecutors first strike in Bergisch Gladbach. A 42 year old father is arrested in his apartment. He is said to have abused his daughter and published recordings of the fact online.
After evaluating his cell phone data, further arrests are made. Also from a time soldier from the Lower Rhine – the one who is on trial today.
At that time, mass data carriers were confiscated, explains Ulrich Bremer from the Cologne public prosecutor’s office: “We have found considerable evidence at the various crime scenes. In the case in Bergisch Gladbach alone, there are about seven terabytes of data. “To this day, they discover more and more child pornography material and more and more suspects through countless chat histories.
First trial in Mönchengladbach
Another trial had already started in Mönchengladbach at the end of April: Two 39-year-old men were charged with 79 cases of sexual abuse of children, among other things. Between 2015 and 2019, the two Germans from Krefeld and Viersen are said to have repeatedly raped two girls.
In the meantime, the public prosecutor at the Kleve district court has brought charges against another accused. The 61-year-old last lived in Xanten, according to the court. In some cases, he is accused of serious sexual abuse of children in ten cases – including his own daughter.
Nationwide suspects
In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, the “Berg” investigation group has identified 21 suspects. Nine of them are in custody. Prosecutors charged four cases, including today’s case. The investigation into the abuse that started by a case in Bergisch Gladbach has now spread to almost all federal states. For this reason, the cases were also submitted to the relevant public prosecutor’s office in the other federal states.
“We have over 70 identified suspects nationwide and also have evidence of other people,” explains Michael Esser, head of the Berg investigation team in Cologne. “At the moment there is no end in sight. We are working with the same high pressure as last November. It will be months, rather years, before we have processed all the saved data.” New abuse acts were still scheduled in the chats.
Investigation also during Corona crisis
The investigation continued even in the Corona crisis. Children could have been freed, the investigators said. Analyzes of chat histories keep revealing new insights. In some cases, helicopters were used to bring information from A to B.
A conclusion is not foreseeable this year. The top priority is to minimize the number of victims, to find and arrest more and more suspected perpetrators.
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