The Salzburg Regional Court has ruled: The former head of the Munich Music Academy, Siegfried Mauser, is liable. Based on the medical reports that are now available, there are “no health reasons” that speak against serving a prison sentence, said the Salzburg judge Andreas Wiesauer. As a result, Mauser has until February 1 of this year to begin his detention.
The 67-year-old was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for sexual assault, among other things. In his office at the Munich Music Academy, he had repeatedly physically touched a singer who was applying for a job. A total of four women had reported the music professor for sexual misconduct in recent years, the processes date from 2015 and 2017. Lawyer Antje Brandes, who represented the injured women, said it was important for her clients that the judgment against Mauser now will be carried out, “in a spiritual sense, but also in order to maintain the belief in the rule of law”.
A woman accused him of raping him, but there was no conviction
It remains to be seen whether the decision of the Salzburg Regional Court will actually be the final chord in the Mauser case. Mauser had always exhausted all legal means through several lawyers and complained through all instances. In the first trial, the court saw it as proven that Mauser had sexually assaulted a professor in his office, which was punished with a suspended sentence of nine months. Another lawsuit against Mauser followed in 2017. This time he was accused of massive sexual contact with a singer. In addition, a woman who had also applied for a position in his office accused him of rape.
In the latter case, the Munich Regional Court was of the opinion that the sexual intercourse had taken place as described, but the woman had not sufficiently defended herself according to the old sexual criminal law. In October 2019, the Federal Court of Justice ruled in the last instance that Mauser had to be behind bars for two years and nine months for sexually assaulting the singer in three cases.
At the beginning of 2020, Siegfried Mauser should have been imprisoned in Landsberg Prison. Instead, the 67-year-old, who also has Austrian citizenship, moved to his place of residence in Salzburg. In June 2020, he received a request from the authorities to enter the Austrian prison in Puch-Urstein. Instead, Mauser submitted statements from his doctors through other lawyers, which should certify his incapacity to be held liable. The statements are said to have been about physical and mental ailments. Previously, photos of Mauser could be seen on social media, showing him drinking wine at a viewpoint in Salzburg.
It is important for the injured women that Mauser also serves the sentence, says their lawyer
The regional court in Salzburg then commissioned judicial experts who checked these certificates and examined Mauser. Also due to the corona pandemic, the statements dragged on, but now all the reports are available. They come to the conclusion that “there are no health reasons that speak against detention”. Mauser is now asked to start his prison sentence in Austria by February 1st.
Lawyer Antje Brandes represented a total of five women who had reported sexual assaults to Mauser. One case was discontinued due to the statute of limitations, and in two cases there were ultimately convictions. “So far, the injured parties have not been able to understand why the convict was able to evade the prison sentence for so long,” said Brandes. But even financial means or supposed connections could no longer have saved Mauser from prison.