In the case of abuse involving a sports teacher, who allegedly abused more than two dozen boys aged 9 to 14 at a high school in Vienna until his suicide in May 2019, it was confirmed over the weekend that the man worked for a second Viennese sports club. While he held an executive position at one of the Sportunion clubs, he also worked as a basketball coach for a second club controlled by another association.
It was previously known that the teacher had accompanied a number of students to the sports club where he worked as a civil servant. He also housed a former teacher there who coached boys in basketball and a former student – the two were reported Monday by a victim’s lawyer on suspicion of child abuse and abuse of authority. The younger of the two, who had trained in different sports in different clubs, had only been elected vice president of this club a few Mondays ago. On Wednesday, he was relieved of all positions by Sportunion until the allegations against him were cleared up.
In addition, the late sports teacher worked in parallel with one club for “two to three years as a basketball coach,” as the president of the second club confirmed to the APA on Saturday. It was created in collaboration with the secondary school, where the teacher had been employed since 1996. The sports teacher looked after the boys’ U10 team, the club president said.
Suspect was never alone with children
“Fortunately, we have no affected children,” the president stressed. In the course of the investigations started by a former student of the sports teacher – who reported to the educators in April 2019 – the club was investigated in detail by the umbrella organization and the Vienna Basketball Association (WBV) with the involvement of two children and youth protection organizations.
There were no abnormalities or even seizures. The president attributed this to the fact that the training sessions were always led by two people: “He was never alone with the children. There was always a second trainer present.” The pedagogue, on the other hand, apparently focused on older boys, according to media reports.
It is certain that the pedagogue, together with the now also suspect ex-teacher, was also on the coaching staff of a multi-day basketball camp that took place in Vienna at the beginning of July 2017. The then head of the camp assured APA on Saturday that there had been no incidents at the time. That was “really checked in detail”.
Stricter laws requested
In addition to Minister of the Family Susanne Raab (ÖVP) and Minister of Education Martin Polaschek (ÖVP), who – as reported – spoke of a “system failure” at the administrative level, also reported on Saturday ÖVP General Secretary Christian Stocker speaks: The Viennese authorities have “looked the other way for far too long and did not investigate”. They are now “obliged to provide full clarification.” The People’s Party has long demanded the strictest possible laws to protect children’s physical and psychological well-being.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
