In autumn 2020, a Muslim mother claimed in a video in Arabic that her then four-year-old daughter had been raped at the St. Martin Catholic day-care centre in Koblenz (Rhineland-Palatinate).
After gynaecological examinations of the child, it was soon clear: the accusations were not tenable, the child had not been abused!
Too late: tens of thousands had already watched the video (with German subtitles) and expressed their hatred against the only male educator, the kindergarten itself and the investigators. After death threats, the kindergarten employee was given police protection. The kindergarten was closed for a fortnight.
According to Koblenz Attorney General Jürgen Brauer, the proceedings are about hostility, especially on the internet – they range from defamation to public incitement to murder: “In 30 proceedings, we have filed an application for the issuance of a penalty order, ten proceedings of which have been legally concluded. Fines of up to 100 penalty units were predominantly imposed/applied for.”
In another case, the public prosecutor’s office brought charges, seven cases were referred to other German public prosecutor’s offices and one to authorities in Austria.
37 preliminary proceedings were dropped, 15 are still pending. In 46 cases, no perpetrator could be identified.
According to Koblenz Attorney General Jürgen Brauer, no preliminary proceedings have been initiated against the girl’s parents for faking a crime: “At present, it must be assumed that the parents are convinced that abuse of their child has occurred. The parents have left Koblenz. Their whereabouts are unknown.”
In the clip, the mother had spoken of her daughter being raped by several men, videotaped group sex and beatings of children.
For the educator, the time was an absolute nightmare, parents bombarded him with three more criminal charges based on false accusations.
Among other things, the police advised him to change his name and move abroad. He became unable to work and ended up in a psychiatric day clinic suffering from depression. Later he suffered a heart attack.
The 44-year-old wants to remain anonymous, says about the other accusations: “For example, I am supposed to have collected children with a camper van and recorded porn with them.”
According to Katholischer KiTa gGmbH Koblenz, “a daily work routine is gradually developing in the facility that is comparable to the time before the stressful events”: “The staff have become more vigilant and sensitive due to the threats and the temporary closure of the day care centre.”Accordingly, they continue to be provided with professional support.