German Paediatrician Charged With 130 Counts of Sexual Abuse

German prosecutors have charged a 46-year-old paediatrician with 130 counts of sexual abuse, including the rape of children. Most of the alleged victims were under the doctor's care at the time. The charges cover offences committed between 2013 and 2025 at clinics in the Brandenburg towns of Rathenow and Nauen.

The doctor remains in pre-trial detention. Prosecutors announced the charges on 6 May. A regional court in Potsdam will now decide whether the case proceeds to trial. The prosecutor's office in Potsdam said in a statement that the accused faces charges of offences against sexual autonomy in 130 cases.

These include allegations of serious sexual abuse of children and rape. Officials did not disclose the exact number of children believed to have been affected. Most of the alleged offences were committed in the course of the doctor's professional duties at clinics operated by the Havelland healthcare group.

The doctor worked in Brandenburg state, which surrounds Berlin. Investigators seized data storage devices believed to contain relevant images at the time of the arrest in November.

The case came to light in January after a mother reported that her child had allegedly been assaulted while being treated in the paediatric ward of Rathenow hospital. The Havelland Kliniken group said it was conducting an internal review with the help of experts.

It acknowledged that the four-eyes protocol, which requires two people to be present during examinations of children, had not always been followed. The group's medical director said the allegations undermine the trust of patients and their families.

After the charges were announced, the group stated it would fully support prosecutors and provide any relevant information. It expressed sympathy to all patients who may have been harmed as well as to their families.

France last May, a former surgeon then aged 74 was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the sexual abuse of hundreds of patients, most under the age of 15. The case was described as the biggest child abuse trial in the country's history. It involved 111 rapes and 189 sexual assaults between 1989 and 2014 at a dozen hospitals.