GERMANY
Deutsche Welle
A lawyer representing 231 people has alleged that his clients faced abuse by adults working with the Domspatzen, a Catholic choir in Bavaria. Several victims alleged sexual harassment.
Ulrich Weber, the lawyer representing the alleged victims, was commissioned by the church diocese to look into the cases.
In a press conference on Friday, he said: “I have here 231 reports of physical abuse.” These ranged from beatings to food deprivation, sexual assault and rape, Weber told journalists.
“The reported cases of sexual abuse in Regensburg were mostly concentrated in the period of the mid-to-late1970s,” he said. According to the lawyer, “50 victims spoke of 10 perpetrators” at the Regensburger Domspatzen boys’ choir and two associated boarding schools between 1953 and 1992.
However, the actual number of victims could be much higher, Weber said, because at least every third child out of the 2,100 pupils in the choir had been subjected to physical violence.
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