The former head of the Munich Music Academy, convicted of sexual assault, has started his prison sentence in Austria. Siegfried Mauser appeared at the Salzburg prison in Puch near Hallein on Monday around 8 a.m., said prison director Dietmar Knebel.
Last week, Mauser failed with a plea for clemency addressed to Austria’s Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen. Mauser had wanted to obtain a stay of detention. Actually, the 67-year-old should have been arrested on February 1, but had not appeared in prison.
Mauser is now going through the usual recording procedure, said Knebel. This includes a five-day corona quarantine – even if the test result is negative. In addition, discussions with various specialist services are pending. The Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice will decide within six weeks whether Mauser can stay in the Salzburg JVA or be transferred.
The former head of the music college was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison in three counts of sexual assault in May 2018. In October 2019, the Federal Court of Justice confirmed the judgment of the Munich I Regional Court.
Mauser had tried in vain to obtain a retrial at the Augsburg Regional Court. According to his defense attorney in Karlsruhe, Mauser filed a constitutional complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court in the summer of 2021. A decision is still pending.