Paid for Child Abuse: State Official from Lower Austria Arrested

A high-ranking state official from Lower Austria has been arrested because he allegedly paid for livestreaming child abuse. Pre-trial detention was imposed on Sunday due to the risk of committing the offense, confirmed Christina Salzborn, spokeswoman for the Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters, upon request of a report by the "Kronen Zeitung" (Thursday edition). The department head has been suspended, it was said from the state administration upon request.

Livestreams of Child Abuse

According to the report, tips from Interpol from the USA initiated investigations by the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office, and the Federal Criminal Police Office tracked down the man. According to the daily newspaper, the accused is said to have streamed child abuse from the Philippines on his private computer for years. During a house search, data carriers were secured, which are now being evaluated. According to Salzborn, the pre-trial detention is initially limited until December 15.

Suspicion of Incitement to Severe Sexual Abuse of Minors

Investigations are being conducted on suspicion of incitement to severe sexual abuse of minors and under Section 207a of the Criminal Code (Visual child pornography and visual depictions of minors), said Nina Bussek, spokeswoman for the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office, upon request. She did not provide details, citing the ongoing proceedings.

Official Was Suspended

"The office was informed by the Federal Criminal Police Office about the criminal allegations against a department head," said the Lower Austrian state administration. "The affected official was immediately suspended," it was communicated. The family of the accused is being supported through psychological care. It was further noted that the activities of the accused were "exclusively of an organizational nature," "therefore, official direct contact with children was not part of his duties." "Nevertheless, in addition to the investigations by the Federal Criminal Police Office, internal investigations were also immediately commissioned by the Internal Audit in the state administration to rule out possible misconduct in connection with his official duties," it was stated.

(APA/Red)

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