Abuse at school – new research report: 40 victims affected

Of those affected, 25 are known, another 15 can be seen on photo and video material that was secured during a search of the teacher’s apartment. These 15 people affected could not be identified so far, education director Heinrich Himmer confirmed to journalists on Monday afternoon.

Teacher has also taught in primary school
New in the investigation report is that the physical education teacher also taught at a primary school right next to the secondary school: “The committee advises the school inspectorate of the neighboring primary school to conduct a further investigation at the primary school because the at the location ultimately do not clarify.” As Director of Education Himmer explained, the pedagogue worked “as a second teacher and never alone” at the primary school.The Directorate of Education is currently not aware of any indications of sexual assault or abuse at the primary school.

“But we won’t let that pass,” Himmer assured. The Directorate of Education is therefore now also going to send letters to former primary school pupils to detect any abuses and to offer help.

Multiple testimonials
The APA has a well-founded witness statement, according to which the violent sports teacher allegedly taught gymnastics at primary school in the school years 2011/2012 to 2014/2015 – possibly as part of a collaborative project. And an acquaintance of the teacher – until 2016 himself a contract teacher at another secondary school in Vienna-Brigittenau, where he was suspected of abuse and subsequently left school – was hired as a trainer at the primary school in 2017, where he played basketball game on Friday afternoons Group “supervised only”, according to the report of the Commission of Inquiry.

The committee of inquiry is also not aware of attacks on the primary school: “The committee has no further information about this.” However, it was in a basketball club in 2018 after several complaints about the acquaintance and ex-teacher who cared for the children. boys there and their physical proximity – for example when or after showering – got to the point where the Children and Youth Ombudsman (KJA) got involved with this man.

Child and youth lawyers knew about it
In December 2018, an agreement was reached with the trainer with the involvement of the children and youth ombudsman, who, among other things, obliged him to stop his “assistance” in changing clothes in the cloakroom, to stop physically approaching boys, and to stop talking to children. sports under the age of 14. In return – with the knowledge and consent of the Ombudsman for Children and Youth – an advertisement was initially waived.

The basketball coach did not comply. He did not go to men’s therapy as agreed, nor did he stop educating children under the age of 14. Victim lawyer Herta Bauer, who represents several former students who have been affected by sexual abuse, considers this acquaintance of the sports teacher as a possible accomplice. He only stopped working as a coach in 2019 – not at the insistence of the children and youth ombudsman, but because the Vienna Basketball Association (WBV) pulled the string. According to WBV chairman Thomas Holzgruber, the man was subsequently banned from all basketball activities and the sports club was ordered to no longer employ him as a coach.