Pensioner

Serious allegations against a man from Munich: sexual abuse, forced prostitution and human trafficking. The trial has begun in the regional court.

The case of five-year-old Anna is just one of countless cases that are being described in all their horrific detail this morning in courtroom B177 of the Munich Criminal Justice Center. On a weekend in March 2023, Layla S.* (*all names have been changed) invites a friend and her daughter on a weekend trip to Munich.

When she arrives at the hotel, the 31-year-old sends the mother for a massage. She assures her that she will take care of Anna. In fact, however, Layla S. – for which she will later receive 1,800 euros – takes the child to Pullach near Munich, to the house of Hartmut A., where he sexually abuses the girl.

For the 81-year-old, it is neither the first nor the last crime of this kind – at least according to the indictment read out at the Munich I Regional Court. The 50-minute lecture, which does not leave out the details of the countless cases of abuse or the defendant’s vile language in relation to his victims, is difficult for listeners to bear.

Hartmut A. accepts the descriptions without any visible reaction – his arms folded on the table, his gaze directed into space. The 81-year-old is accused of serious sexual abuse of children and possession of child pornographic photos and videos. He must also answer for attempted incitement to forced prostitution because he searched the Internet for women who would make their children available to him for abuse in exchange for several thousand euros.

Two meters away from the pensioner, at the other end of the dock, sits Layla S. She is the 31-year-old who, in addition to Anna, is said to have sold other girls to Hartmut A. in return for payment – knowing full well that he would sexually abuse them. Layla S. is also accused of serious sexual abuse of children. In addition, she is accused of human trafficking, forced prostitution and extortion.

Among other things, she talks about how she grew up as a boy in Lower Saxony and lived as a man until a few years ago before she changed her gender. Today she describes herself as a trans woman, says Layla S. She does not want to comment on the alleged crimes, explains her lawyer.

According to the indictment, the 31-year-old is said to have secretly filmed Hartmut A.’s actions in order to blackmail him. And in fact, he paid Layla S. almost 200,000 euros out of fear that the recordings would be published. The 81-year-old from Pullach was apparently not short of money.

On the first day of the trial, his lawyers left it open whether Hartmut A. would say anything about himself or the case in court. Instead, they filed a motion against the composition of the chamber. The reasoning was that there was a “particularly close relationship” between a judge, a public prosecutor involved and an expert.

The lawyers also complain that the chamber did not “examine an important witness critically enough”. Another criminal chamber of the regional court will now decide on the motion for disqualification. According to the current plan, the trial is to continue next week. A total of 33 hearing dates are still scheduled. A verdict could therefore be reached at the beginning of next year.