Berlin, May 19, (dpa/GNA) – German prosecutors have said that a paediatrician charged with 130 counts of sex offences, is accused of harming more than 70 alleged victims.
According to the indictment, the victims are aged between 2 and 20, and include both males and females, the Potsdam public prosecutor’s office announced on Tuesday.
The doctor, who was employed at the Havelland Kliniken near Berlin, faces allegations of serious sexual abuse of children and rape. He is accused of committing most of the offences while on duty.
Authorities are expected to decide shortly on a trial date. The court declined to provide further details regarding the allegations. Under Germany’s criminal code, pre-trial detention should not normally exceed six months, which would be the case for the paediatrician in May. The alleged offences are said to have taken place over a period of 12 years.
In January, it became known that the doctor was alleged to have sexually abused a child while on duty at a hospital in Rathenow, west of Berlin. Following a complaint by the child’s mother, the police carried out searches, with investigators seizing numerous data storage devices.
The Havelland Kliniken, a group that runs several hospitals in the region, including the one in Rathenow, has said that the accusations are undermining the trust of patients.
The hospital group said it has since set up a hotline for people to call in with tip-offs and launched an internal review to examine its child protection policies.
GNA