Former volleyball coach faces trial for child pornography

I meet Anna (a made-up name for confidentiality reasons) in a café in Luxembourg City. In front of me stands a young woman of 23 whose ordeal over the last three years is obvious. She is now ready to tell me what happened to her.

The facts date back to February 2020 when an investigation against a volleyball coach suspected of having "manufactured, possessed, distributed, or recorded" images of child pornography was made public. The man is alleged to have filmed players in the changing room and in the showers and then distributed the images on the darknet.

This came as a shock to Anna who was playing volleyball at the time and wondered who the trainer in question was. She even wrote a text message to her coach asking him who "the f**k" was behind the images. She never received a reply to her message as the man was already in custody.

She and her team soon realised that it was their coach. "It's sickening when you know that we were filmed in the showers after training. But it wasn't just me, it was the whole team. At the time, we didn't realise it yet, it didn't seem that serious", she tells us.

Real shock comes a year late

"I was called to the police station in February 2021. I thought I was simply going to make a statement about the images recorded in the changing rooms. In the end, I was there for over three hours."

Anna had not only been filmed in the showers and changing rooms. Nearly 3,600 videos and photos of her were found and posted on the darknet over a period of almost six years. The coach was the father of her best friend and like a second family to her. She often went to her trainer's house.

Other photos of Anna were found by the authorities. "There were photos of our holidays, photos of my bedroom, where I used to change, and many others. This man followed my every move," she explains. The images went back to a time when she was just twelve years old.

That was when the real shock came. "I was shown all the photos. I had to confirm each time that it was really me in the pictures. After more than three hours, I left the police station and cried in my car. I only started to realise what had happened when I got to my room that evening."

A few days later, Anna decided to see a psychologist. The young woman no longer felt safe. Wherever she changed clothes or showered, she checked for cameras. "I didn't even feel safe in my own home any more", she tells us. Things also got complicated with her boyfriend at the time. Anna lost confidence in men and even questioned people she had known for a long time. She no longer wanted to be touched.

"It took me a while, but eventually I managed to start seeing people again and getting to know new people. I think the worst thing was that I thought of them as a second family. I never imagined that a person could have such a hidden side. It's a fear that I've transposed to a lot of other people."

What particularly helped her was that the volleyball team stuck together and that the players were able to talk to each other about it. She also found a lot of comfort in the people close to her. "At first, I didn't really want to talk about it, but I noticed that it made me feel better and that those close to me supported me."

First reunion

This Monday, the former volleyball coach will have to answer for his actions before the Luxembourg courts. Anna is stressed, but also sees the trial in a positive light: "I hope we can draw a line under this affair after the trial. It's almost a resolution, although I'm not forgetting anything."

This will be the first time she sees her former coach again. The young woman has prepared herself for the confrontation. She went on site to familiarise herself with the courtroom and her lawyer and psychologist also prepared her for the trial.

Laws should be 'tougher'

Anna explains that she might have easily bumped into her ex-trainer before the trial. Indeed, after a few months of pre-trial detention, the man was released and able to return to work.

"He destroyed his family's life and put us through all that. Despite everything, we might theoretically have come across him at any time. Sometimes I think about it before I go to a party. I weigh up the risk of running into him..."

She feels it is unfair that her former coach has been able to get on with his life after everything he had been accused of doing. "The laws should be tougher. Sometimes I wish I was in the States because there he would have been locked up for many years."

That is also why Anna waited to tell her story. "Unfortunately, it can happen to anyone. You shouldn't become paranoid, but you have to be aware that you can't trust everyone."

If you have experienced something similar and would like to share it, please write to us at: dossier@rtl.lu.

Where to find help

Children and adolescents in need of support can call 116111, adults can do the same at 454545.

Another helpful address is the suicide prevention site.