A 74-year-old was due to appear before the Innsbruck court on Tuesday on charges of serious sexual abuse of minors, following an adjournment on the first day of the trial in mid-October. In the summer of 2009, as a holiday camp leader at the Achensee, he allegedly abused a nine-year-old boy and was therefore also guilty of abusing a relationship of authority.
The suspect had not admitted guilt during the investigation or at the beginning of October. Also on the second day of the trial on Tuesday, the suspect did not change his attitude: “I stand by my previous statements.”
This hearing was already scheduled for October. However, it was eventually postponed because the DVD containing the recorded interrogation had not reached the Innsbruck court.
Allegations dismissed as “impossible things”.
On the day of the trial, the accused and former camp director had described the abuse allegations as “impossible things”. Rather, it is conceivable that the abuse incident in question took place “in the childhood” of the person concerned and that he then incorrectly located it in the holiday camp at Lake Achen. In a pre-trial written statement, he stated that he had never abused anyone or “committed acts contrary to the sexual integrity of children and young people entrusted to him”.
Prosecutor believed the victim
In October, however, the prosecutor left no doubt that the alleged victim is “absolutely credible” and that the incident at Lake Achensee actually took place. “There is simply no other plausible reason why this should burden the defendant so heavily after so many years,” the prosecutor stressed. The defendant’s lawyer, on the other hand, painted a different picture: “You have to ask yourself whether the memory of the person concerned is reliable.” It is certainly conceivable that he simply “created a false memory”.
Witness acquitted defendant, acquitted
A witness who was present at the Achensee holiday camp as a pedagogue, exonerated the suspect and described him as a reliable camp administrator. He was always very careful and appropriate with the children and even sitting on his lap was “too much”. The accusations against him are therefore “a shock” to her, according to the witness. According to the indictment, the 74-year-old – after previous serious assaults in the night by a supervisor – would also have assaulted the boy the next morning. However, the supervisor could no longer be investigated by the judiciary.
On Tuesday, the 74-year-old could finally breathe a sigh of relief: he was acquitted.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
