The public prosecutor’s office in Vienna announced on Thursday afternoon that there was another suspected case. “We received another ad,” said spokeswoman Nina Bussek. Four possible cases of abuse are now being determined.
teacher transferred
At the beginning of the week it became known that a teacher allegedly abused a child in a municipal kindergarten 13 months ago. Then two more possible cases followed, and now the next. After the first suspected case became known – the parents sought a conversation with the kindergarten management – the public prosecutor’s office was appointed and the man was transferred to the office. However, the parents of the other children at the site have not received any information for the time being, this happened only recently.
This led to sharp criticism of Municipal Department 10 (MA 10), which is responsible for kindergartens. On the one hand, it is about the fact that the parents were only informed about the suspicion of abuse so many months later, on the other hand, parents now apparently feel left alone with the situation.
cover-up allegations
The head of MA 10, Daniela Cochlar, has rejected allegations of cover-up in the past few days. According to media reports, she said that it would be decided on a case-by-case basis how information would be provided. Cochlar emphasized that they are doing their best to shed light on the matter: “We take it really seriously.” A parents’ evening for the families from the affected location has been organized for today, Thursday evening. At the request of the parents, this should take place with the exclusion of the (media) public.
According to public prosecutor Bussek, four cases are now being reviewed by the authority. It is about the accusation of serious sexual abuse of minors or the sexual abuse of minors. In the case that dates back a year, an expert report was commissioned, the result of which has now been received. Bussek did not provide any information about the content. In the three cases that have only just become known, expert opinions still have to be obtained. “The expert has already been appointed to prepare an expert opinion on all three cases.”
Own commission examines allegations
Furthermore, on behalf of the City of Vienna, a specially appointed commission is investigating the allegations and procedures surrounding the case. The committee met for the first time yesterday, Wednesday afternoon, for a lengthy session. “We have defined the central question and stated that we will examine the process from the suspected case to the present day,” reported the city’s child and youth advocate, Ercan Nik Nafs.
Further details on the content of the meeting and the further procedure were not announced. The plan is to present a report with the results in early July. The board consists of three people. This is a representative of the child and youth ombudsman, the child protection center Möwe and the Vienna child and youth welfare service.
Nik Nafs assured the independence of the commission: “The independence and freedom from instructions of the child and youth ombudsman and the commission is secured, 100 percent.”
Lawyer wants to sue city
The lawyer Johannes Bügler had recently expressed doubts about this. He represents five pairs of parents whose children would be cared for in the facility concerned. According to the parents, the children would show symptoms of possible abuse. He does not yet know whether the three cases known to date yesterday, Wednesday, are among his mandates, as he said, since he has not yet been able to view any relevant files. He said he would sue the city.
On Thursday, the Austrian child protection centers and the Working Group for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation (ECPAT Austria) also spoke up. In a broadcast, they called for mandatory standards for child protection. Such concepts would, for example, increase security, enable a clearly regulated procedure in the event of suspected cases and give the employees of an organization security in their actions.
Source: Nachrichten
