Causa Teichtmeister: ex-castle actor threatens enforcement of measures

If convicted, the 43-year-old – Teichtmeister is presumed innocent – not only faces up to three years in prison, but also accommodation in a forensic therapeutic center.

As court spokeswoman Christina Salzborn confirmed on Tuesday evening at APA’s request, the Vienna public prosecutor’s office in its indictment in the event of a guilty verdict applied for the actor’s placement in the so-called enforcement of measures. The decisive factor for this is a psychiatric report, which – based on the latest data forensic findings – certifies that the actor has a serious and lasting mental disorder. “According to the report, the requirements for accommodation under Section 21 Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code are met,” said Salzborn. There was no information on the exact content of the psychiatric expertise, with reference to the defendant’s personal rights. Michael Rami, Teichtmeister’s legal representative specializing in media law, was initially unavailable to APA by telephone.

In any case, it is certain that the indictment that is now the subject of the proceedings justifies the jurisdiction of a jury panel. During the main hearing, the Senate is also responsible for deciding whether and to what extent the public prosecutor’s application for placement is to be granted in the event of a possible guilty verdict. A conditional forbearance of the measure could also be considered.

The forensic psychiatrist consulted by the judiciary may have come to the conclusion that Teichtmeister is of sound mind, but that he committed the crimes he is accused of under the decisive influence of a serious and lasting mental disorder. According to the prosecution, there is a so-called inciting act, which is absolutely necessary for any accommodation, because Teichtmeister is accused of acts directed against sexual integrity and self-determination and punishable by more than one year in prison.

The 43-year-old is said to have procured forbidden pornographic material from February 2008 to summer 2021 and saved it on two smartphones, two laptops, a desktop and three external hard drives, among other things. Originally, the public prosecutor’s office only assumed that Teichtmeister was in possession of prohibited depictions of abuse. However, the responsible judge had a data forensic expert carry out an additional evaluation of the seized data – after all, around 23 terabytes – which changed the view of things: Teichtmeister had changed 34,696 files by editing them, creating collages, making slide shows and video sequences, which was legally qualifies as manufacture and is subject to a higher penalty.

ability to negotiate again

A total of 76,000 files are the subject of the proceedings, as court spokeswoman Salzborn explained in a press release. Of these, around 47,000 relate to depictions of underage minors, the rest to consent minors, i.e. young people between the ages of 14 and 18.

Hearings against Teichtmeister should have been held five months ago, but the appointment scheduled for February 8 had to be canceled at short notice due to the defendant’s illness. Teichtmeister is now able to negotiate again. Further delays were caused by indispensable surveys commissioned by the responsible judge, which were necessary to clarify responsibility and legal classification.

The public prosecutor had been investigating Teichtmeister since 2021, and at the end of 2022 the application for punishment was submitted to the regional court. The government took the Teichtmeister case as an opportunity to tighten the penalties for acquiring, possessing and passing on or trading in depictions of abuse by children and young people. Since retroactivity of criminal laws is forbidden, the actor will no longer be affected if he is convicted.