A former employee of the Augsburger Domsingknaben has been charged with secretly filming members of the choir and with sexual abuse of children. The man is said to have secretly filmed children and young people while showering and in toilets, as the Central Cybercrime Office at the Bamberg Public Prosecutor’s Office announced on Wednesday. The charge is based on violation of the most personal sphere of life and personal rights by taking pictures. In addition, the man, who reportedly now lives in Dresden, is accused of possessing child pornographic content.
The accused worked as an assistant at the Augsburger Domsingknaben from 2017 to 2020. According to the information, the investigation against him began after a tip from abroad about possible child pornography content. When investigators searched the man’s former apartment in Augsburg in September 2020, they found several devices, some of which were encrypted, with child pornography images on them. According to investigators, the man is said to have filmed male children and young people from the choir between 2018 and 2020, mainly in showers or toilets – sometimes also in his apartment at the time.
In nine cases, those affected as well as the place and time of the recordings could be identified. In one case, the statement of a person affected also led to the suspicion that the defendant had sexually abused a 13-year-old in an apartment in Munich in 2017. There is therefore no evidence of further sexual crimes. With regard to the filming, some of the alleged crimes have already expired or could not be precisely pinpointed in time. The Augsburg District Court must now decide whether to admit the charges. Since the defendant was not yet 21 years old at the time of the alleged crimes, a possible trial should be heard in the youth jury court.