Potsdam trial opens against pediatrician accused of abusing more than 70 victims

Trial opens in Potsdam

The Landgericht Potsdam opened the trial on Monday, 2 November, against a 46-year-old pediatrician from the Havelland district west of Berlin. The indictment lists 130 cases in total. Accounts differ on how long prosecutors took to read it, with some putting it at more than two hours and another at nearly three. Prosecutors assume more than 70 victims, who were between 2 and 20 years old when the alleged offences took place. Security checks were planned because a large crowd was expected in the courtroom, and fifteen co-plaintiffs, either victims or their legal guardians, were present at the opening session.

What the indictment alleges

According to the indictment, most of the acts took place at two clinic sites, in a doctors' on-call room and in day-care centres. Prosecutors allege he took pictures of the acts and, several times, videos as well. The charges concern offences against sexual self-determination spread over more than ten years, and the earliest allegations date back to December 2013. He worked at Havelland-Kliniken GmbH, which runs two hospital sites west of Berlin, until 2025, and the indictment says he exploited the treatment relationship while working there.

How the case came to light

The investigation began in November 2025, after a mother reported the doctor. Searches followed, and seized data storage devices containing image material showed further offences, which widened the case. The man was taken into pre-trial custody that month over the risk of reoffending. His arrest came after an alleged abuse of a child at a clinic in Rathenow, and he has been held in custody since.

Defence and expert reaction

After the indictment was read, the defendant gave a short statement in which he said he had confessed to almost all allegations and would stick with those confessions. His defence lawyer, Ursus Koerner von Gustorf, had said beforehand that a statement would be given at the start of the trial. Ulrike Hoffmann of the Independent Commission of the Federal Government for the Review of Sexual Child Abuse commented on the case.

“The high number of victims makes clear that it apparently took a very long time before the perpetrator was exposed, and that is very concerning.”

She added that patients seek help in medical settings, where the dependency relationship leaves them largely unprotected. She also called for thorough review of abuse in institutions so that such cases do not repeat. The public is expected to be excluded from at least part of the hearing to protect minor victims.

Schedule ahead

The court has scheduled 18 hearing days for the trial. A verdict is expected in mid-December at the Potsdam regional court, and the hearing is set to run until then.

Charges (cases)130

Co-plaintiffs at opening15

Scheduled hearing days18

Charges (cases)

130

Co-plaintiffs at opening

15

Scheduled hearing days

18

Data from the article text