According to the information, her son is said to have been contacted by the former extra via Instagram and sexually harassed. The mother immediately filed a complaint on the advice of the Vienna Volksoper. A ban was immediately issued against the man, who was occasionally employed as an extra on a contract basis at the Volksoper from December 2022 to April 2023.
The Vienna Volksoper reported in the statement that, in addition to the contact with the mother, it had also informed the State Criminal Police Office and the Möwe association. An external legal expert was called in and confirmed that all necessary steps had been taken. The management of the Bundestheater-Holding and the supervisory board of the Volksoper were also informed.
During a house search in Ottakring in January, a smartphone, an iPhone, a laptop, several USB sticks and a tablet were seized, according to the report in the “Kronen Zeitung”. The parents of one of the children, whom he is said to have tried to persuade to engage in sexual acts in the chat, contacted the police, who are now waiting for the confiscated data storage media to be evaluated, according to the article. It concerns the suspicion of initiating sexual contacts with minors, child abuse material and attempted sexual abuse.
The police confirmed the investigation to the APA based on suspicion of initiating sexual contact with minors. Other offenses are investigated on the basis of suspicion at the experimental stage: These are graphic sexual-related child abuse material and graphic sexual-related representations of minors (StGB § 207a) and the sexual abuse of minors. The house search in Vienna-Ottakring was also confirmed.
The Volksoper also stated that it had installed child protection officers and carried out regular training on the subject of child protection and had issued a child protection policy, which is published on the Volksoper’s website under Junge Volksoper. Children’s choir children are under constant supervision at the Volksoper during rehearsals and performances. As an immediate response, a workshop is planned with all children’s and youth choir members on the topic of safe internet/behavior in the event of harassment.
Last year, the case of Viennese actor Florian Teichtmeister caused a stir far beyond the cultural sector. In September he was sentenced to two years on a conditional basis and for complying with strict court instructions for obtaining and partially altering around 76,000 files containing depictions of abuse of children and young people. The case led to major discussions about how to deal with suspected cases, about prevention and the scope of punishment and, as a result, among other things, to the adoption of a “child protection package”.