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Photo: Friso Gentsch / dpa

A former employee of the Augsburg Cathedral Boys' Choir is said to have secretly filmed children showering and going to the toilet. As investigators reported on Wednesday, 34 victims have now been identified. In the case of individual children and adolescents, identification is still pending.

The 25-year-old accused, who now lives in Dresden, is also suspected of having sexually abused a then 13-year-old six years ago in an apartment in Munich. First, the »Bild« newspaper had reported on the investigations against the ex-employee of the well-known Catholic boys' choir.

Almost three years of investigative work

The Bavarian Center for Combating Child Pornography and Sexual Abuse on the Internet, together with the Augsburg Criminal Investigation Department, has been investigating the man for almost three years. During a search of the apartment, computers and mobile phones were seized, then 378 child pornography images were discovered.

Two years later, 160 videos were found on encrypted devices showing male children and adolescents, mainly in showers or going to the toilet. Due to the depicted rooms and the former activity of the accused, the officers came to the conclusion that the secretly filmed boys were members of the church Augsburg choir.

Information evenings for families

The choir reported that the man had worked for the Cathedral Boys' Choir for five years. Already in February and March 2023, there were four information evenings to inform the families of the boys about the events together with a police commissioner.

According to the "Bild" report, the defendant's lawyer did not want to comment on the allegations against his client.

SWE/DPA