German Paediatrician Charged with 130 Counts of Sexual Abuse, Including Child Rape

German prosecutors have charged a 46-year-old paediatrician with 130 counts of sexual abuse, including the rape of children, most of whom were under his medical care. The doctor, whose name has not been released, has been in custody since November after a mother suspected her child had been assaulted and notified authorities. The case has caused shock in Germany and prompted clinics to step up safeguards.

The doctor worked at clinics in Brandenburg state, surrounding Berlin. Prosecutors in the state capital, Potsdam, announced the charges this week, stating that the alleged crimes were committed between 2013 and 2025. They did not specify how many children are believed to have been abused. "The accused is charged with offences against sexual autonomy in a total of 130 cases. These include allegations of serious sexual abuse of children and rape," the prosecutor's office said in a statement on Wednesday.

Most of the offences are alleged to have been committed "in the course of his professional duties" at clinics operated by the Havelland healthcare group in the Brandenburg towns of Rathenow and Nauen. The doctor remains in pre-trial detention. The charges were brought on 6 May. A regional court in Potsdam will now decide whether to proceed to trial.

At the time of the paediatrician's arrest, investigators seized data storage devices believed to contain relevant images. According to Bild newspaper, the mother's complaint came after her child was allegedly assaulted while being treated in the paediatric ward of Rathenow hospital.

After the case came to light in January, the Havelland Kliniken group said it was conducting an internal review with the help of experts. It emerged that the "four-eyes protocol" – under which two people must be present during an examination of a child – had not always been respected. "The allegations undermine the trust of patients and their families," the group's medical director, Mike Lehsnau, said. After the charges were announced, the group released a second statement, saying it would "fully support" prosecutors and provide any relevant information. "Our sympathy goes out to all patients who may have been harmed, as well as to their families," it said.

The case bears uncomfortable similarities to a major child abuse trial in France last May. A former surgeon, then aged 74, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after a three-month trial for the sexual abuse of hundreds of patients, most under the age of 15 – the biggest child abuse trial in French history. Joël Le Scouarnec worked as a digestive surgeon in public and private hospitals across Brittany and western France, often operating on children with appendicitis. He was accused of 111 rapes and 189 sexual assaults between 1989 and 2014 at a dozen hospitals. Many of the children he assaulted were under anaesthetic or waking up after operations. Some were assaulted in their hospital beds. Their average age was 11. That ruling added to pressure on the French government to address failings in the health and justice system.

Germany's legal and medical systems now face similar scrutiny. A paediatrician – someone parents trust with their most vulnerable children – is accused of betraying that trust on a staggering scale. The trial, if it proceeds, will be watched closely. And the question on every parent's mind in Brandenburg is: how did this happen for twelve years without anyone noticing?