August M
A pediatrician in Germany has been accused of dozens of sexual offences, including alleged assaults against children at a hospital west of Berlin.
German prosecutors say the doctor is facing 130 accusations linked to sexual abuse and rape spanning more than a decade, reports TV 2 News.
Doctor in custody
According to German news agency dpa, the pediatrician has been held in custody since November.
The case first became public in January after allegations emerged that the doctor had sexually abused a child while working at a hospital in Rathenow.
Following a complaint from the child’s mother, police searched properties connected to the suspect and seized several digital storage devices.
Scope of allegations
Prosecutors said the doctor is accused of multiple offences, including aggravated sexual abuse of children and rape.
German newspaper Die Zeit reported that the alleged assaults took place over a period of more than ten years.
Authorities have not confirmed how many of the 130 accusations involve children, and the total number of alleged victims remains unclear.
Hospital abuse claims
According to prosecutors, many of the alleged assaults are believed to have occurred inside the hospital where the pediatrician worked.
The full scale of the investigation was only revealed publicly on Wednesday despite the suspect already having spent months in detention.
Officials have not released further details about the victims or the exact timeline of the alleged crimes.
International attention
The case comes amid wider scrutiny of abuse allegations involving medical professionals in Europe.
Reuters previously reported that retired French surgeon Joël Le Scouarnec was sentenced in 2025 to 20 years in prison after being convicted of rape and sexual assault involving hundreds of patients.
French prosecutors said many of Le Scouarnec’s victims were children, while some assaults allegedly occurred when patients were under anesthesia.
Sources: TV2 News, dpa, Die Zeit, Reuters, AFP
