According to the three-year-old allegedly sexually assaulted, an employee caught the suspect committing the crime and then washed the boy.
After the skiing holiday in Lech in Vienna, the child told a doctor and psychotherapist called in by the worried father, who made an audio recording of the conversation. The boy has been in treatment with the renowned expert since January 23. In their opinion, due to the three-year-old’s “obvious, drastic changes in behavior”, it can be assumed that the boy “was exposed to an experience that was disturbing to him and experienced as an assault during his care in Lech”, as she states in a written report that the APA is available.
Witness has left the country
The witness left the country a few days after the attack that took place in the second week of January, although she was still assigned to work in the facility until February, reported Roberto D’Atri, the chairman of the child protection association, on Monday. The suspect, in turn, was transferred to field service from the third week of January – i.e. immediately after the suspected abuse. “From this it can be concluded that the management must have become aware of the abuse or the allegation,” said D’Atri in an interview with the APA. The club must now “finally take full responsibility and put the facts on the table”.
On Sunday it became known that there could be other victims – specifically two boys aged three and a half and three years who had also taken a course in the facility in the second week of January. The Vorarlberg police referred on Monday to the ongoing surveys, beyond which no information was given. So far, no further complaints have been received, but indications of possible further cases are of course being followed up, according to the public prosecutor’s office in Feldkirch. The new suspected cases are vacationing families from abroad who have meanwhile called in psychological care for their children.
More victims?
When asked by the APA, the Vorarlberg state police headquarters said they currently knew nothing about other suspected cases. With regard to the Viennese boy, the State Criminal Police Office in Vorarlberg and the State Criminal Police Office in Vienna are investigating. When asked when and if the man named by the Viennese boy as a suspect was questioned as an accused, there was no information. According to the press office, the investigation is ongoing.
According to the latest information from the APA, this questioning of the accused should have taken place in the meantime. It is unclear whether the suspect – a man in his mid-twenties from western EU countries – is still in Vorarlberg. According to the Vienna Child Protection Association, he should have worked in the facility as a ski instructor and childcare provider until April 15. However, the facility recently stated that the man would only have been employed on a limited basis until January 31st.
The childcare center was “shocked” on Sunday about the suspected case of the Viennese boy. “We have been working intensively with the police since the first minute so that a quick and comprehensive investigation is possible,” said the director in a press release. A sense of responsibility and caution has always been exercised and precautions have been taken with our own “room concept” to protect the children. According to the manager, the employee who was suspected of crimes no longer works in the childcare center.
Source: Nachrichten
