The man, who also works as a presenter, musical actor and speaker, is said to have “initiated sexual contacts with child actors and boys from a well-known children’s choir as part of his work.” A smartphone, an iPhone, a laptop, several USB sticks and a tablet are said to have been seized during a house search in Ottakring in January.
The parents of one of the children, whom he is said to have tried to persuade to engage in sexual acts in the chat, contacted the police, who are now waiting for the seized data storage media to be evaluated, the newspaper article said on Saturday. It concerns the suspicion of initiating sexual contacts with minors, child abuse material and attempted sexual abuse.
Police are investigating
The police confirmed the investigation based on suspicion of initiating sexual contact with minors. Other offenses are investigated on the basis of suspicion in the experimental stage: These are graphic sexual-related child abuse material and graphic sexual-related representations of minors (StGB § 207a) and the sexual abuse of minors. The house search in Vienna-Ottakring was also confirmed.
Last year, the case of Viennese actor Florian Teichtmeister caused a stir far beyond the cultural sector. In September he was sentenced to two years on a conditional basis and for complying with strict court instructions for obtaining and partially altering around 76,000 files containing depictions of abuse of children and young people. The case had led to major discussions regarding how to deal with suspected cases, regarding prevention and punishment frameworks and, as a result, among other things, to the adoption of a “child protection package”.
