The district court Detmold has received in the case of multiple child abuse in North Rhine-Westphalia Lügde the indictment against two of the three defendants. This was confirmed by a court spokesman to SPIEGEL: "Yes, the prosecution's indictment has been received, charges have been brought against two accused."
The two persons are the main accused Andreas V., 56, and the 49-year-old Heiko V., who is said to have participated in the deeds via live chat. Against Mario S., 33, who also lived on the campsite and was apparently an accomplice of Andreas V., so far no charges have been made.
The reason for this is probably that the prosecutor's office has not completed the investigation against Mario S., said the court spokesman. The charges would now be sent to the defenders of Andreas V. and Heiko V. They would then have the opportunity to comment and, if necessary, submit exculpatory material.
Meanwhile, the chamber will examine whether the approximately 70-page indictment with associated main and case files will be admitted to the trial, the spokesman said. This will take a few weeks. The Chamber's aim is not to have two processes. It will probably wait until a third indictment comes in - which will probably be directed against Mario S.
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Andreas V. and Mario S. are accused of having abused and filmed more than 40 children at a campsite in Lügde on the border with Lower Saxony for many years. Most of the affected children were between three and 14 years old at the time of the crime.
The suspects have been in custody for months. A further five people are being investigated on suspicion of sexual abuse, possession of child pornography material or criminal reprisals in office.