After Tyrol and Carinthia: Suspicion of Abuse in Salzburg SOS Children's Village

A former employee of the SOS Children's Village Seekirchen in the Salzburg Flachgau is alleged to have abused two underage girls in the children's village Seekirchen. The Salzburg public prosecutor's office has initiated an investigation against the suspect, as public prosecutor's office spokeswoman Ricarda Eder confirmed a corresponding report in the "Salzburger Nachrichten" (SN, Wednesday edition) to the APA.

"The investigations are still in the early stages," Eder said to the APA on Wednesday. Therefore, she could not yet say anything concrete about the allegations. Many interviews are still pending. The case is very sensitive. The public prosecutor's office is investigating on suspicion of sexual abuse of minors and abuse of an authority relationship.

Victim's Lawyer: Number of Incidents Currently Unclear

According to SN, the acts of abuse are said to have occurred around the year 2020. The man, who is presumed innocent, is said to have repeatedly performed sexual acts on the girls, who were under 14 at the time, by inappropriately touching them in their intimate areas.

The Salzburg lawyer Sabina Moser was appointed as the legal process companion for the girls by the Salzburg Child Protection Center. So far, not many incidents have been reported by the two, Moser said on Wednesday in a conversation with the APA. The contradictory interview will take place in mid-October. Only then can it be estimated how many incidents there were by the then caregiver.

The man, who was around 52 years old in 2020, supported the children's village mother at the time, explained the victim's lawyer. The two girls were between eight and thirteen years old in 2020. In addition, there is another alleged case of abuse. The accused is said to have inflicted physical violence on an eight-year-old boy at the time, involving ear pulling and grabbing the neck. "This is also still being investigated," said Moser.

Former Employee Already Has a Relevant Criminal Record

The accused has previous convictions for similar offenses. He was legally convicted at the Salzburg Regional Court in October 2021 for sexual abuse of minors, as reported by the SN. At that time, he received an eight-month suspended sentence and an unconditional fine because he had assaulted a minor girl between 2011 and 2013. Following the conviction at that time, the employment relationship with the man was terminated.

SOS Children's Village refers to victim protection

The current allegations against the former employee were not known at the time of his previous conviction. A statement from SOS Children's Village to the APA is still pending. The following statement was sent to the "Salzburger Nachrichten": "We ask for understanding that we cannot provide information on ongoing investigations for reasons of victim protection. And we ask, in the interest of victim protection, for a highly sensitive handling of highly personal details in reporting, to prevent stigmatization and victimization of the victims."

Serious allegations against children's villages in Carinthia and Tyrol

Apart from this investigation case, serious allegations of mistreatment became known in mid-September, which are said to have occurred years ago in SOS Children's Villages in Carinthia and Tyrol. According to a "Falter" report, children and adolescents are said to have been mistreated, locked up, and photographed naked over the years. The information from the weekly newspaper comes from a study that SOS Children's Village itself commissioned but never made public. The allegations in Carinthia refer to the period from 2008 to 2020. In Tyrol, there are said to have been five cases of abuse between 2017 and 2020, as recently reported by the "Tiroler Tageszeitung".

Following reports of alleged abuse at two SOS Children's Village locations in Carinthia and Tyrol, the head of the recently established investigation commission, Irmgard Griss, emphasized that she wants to thoroughly examine the structures within the organization.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.