An early retiree said he was unable to explain to a judge in Salzburg on Monday why he downloaded half a million child porn files from the internet between February 2017 and January 2022. The 59-year-old said he has suffered from abuse and depression in his life. He was charged with pornographic depictions of minors. The trial was adjourned for an expert opinion.
During a house search, the child pornography photos and videos were seized. The resident of Upper Austria is also said to have visited a relevant forum on the Internet. “When I fall into a hole and am depressed, such acts happen. Nobody understands that,” the accused said during the trial at the Salzburg Regional Court. This hole opened up after his psychiatrist retired.
According to the divorced man, he has had a new therapist since April 2021. He has watched less child porn since then, but has never stopped. He also takes medication for depression. The suspect denied the allegation that he had taken child pornography photos of a girl born in 2013.
Already judicially investigated in 2005
The suspect was last interrogated by a court in 2005. No mental abnormality was found at the time. The judge now wants to find out the current mental state of the suspect. That is why the court-sworn psychiatrist Gabriele Wörgötter is ordered to assess the man. When the expertise is there, the process continues.
Two more cases
On Monday, two more cases of pornographic images of minors will be heard at the Salzburg Regional Court. A 29-year-old from Tennengau would have been in possession of a large number of relevant files. He has already confessed to the detectives. In addition, a young man is accused of downloading two child pornography files from the Internet when he was a teenager.
Article 207a of the Criminal Code provides for a maximum prison sentence of three years.
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.
