A 23-year-old man is said to have abused a child in a subway in Munich that he was the driver of. It is not the first allegation of sexual assault against a Munich subway driver.
Munich (dpa / lby) - crime scene: Munich subway, perpetrator: the subway driver. A 23-year-old has confessed to having abused a 12-year-old boy on the Munich subway, which he was the driver. "I deeply regret my actions," he said on Tuesday before the Munich I district court.
The public prosecutor's office accuses the accused of having arranged to meet the child several times on the subway, kissing and groping it - including in the driver's cab. The man is also accused of distributing child pornography and because he has approached other children and is said to have sent them naked pictures of himself in chats, for example. The public was excluded from the trial so that the children concerned could testify.
He wanted to "ask the injured party for an apology," said the man after he had "completely" admitted to the alleged crimes. In relationships with other people, he has always "overshot the mark", and has not been able to find the right balance between "closeness and distance". The reason he gave for this was "some strokes of fate" in his life, such as the loss of his father in 2019. "I was very afraid of loss," he said, and "worried about being alone." "My goal was not to harm anyone."
The case is not the first allegation of sexual assault against a Munich subway driver: as early as 2018, a driver was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for raping an 18-year-old who was drunk in his train had fallen asleep. The man had groped and raped her in the U-Bahn turning facility, which was not open to the public. A video system recorded the crime.
One of the attacks on the child, which is now before the court, is said to have taken place in such a turning facility. According to the Munich Transport Company (MVG), the accused was arrested in November 2020 after his service. A few days later, his lawyer submitted his notice to MVG.
A spokesman emphasized that when hiring new employees, MVG attaches great importance to "an impeccable record", which has had to be confirmed by a certificate of good conduct for 15 years. "Should a colleague become conspicuous through criminal behavior during his/her period of service, we would take appropriate measures," said the spokesman.
The now accused subway driver was on probation when he assaulted the twelve-year-old. In 2019 he was sentenced to a juvenile detention for rape and coercion.
The court has set four hearing dates for the trial. The verdict could come on July 8th.
