The Court of Appeal has upheld this week the prison sentence handed down to a 60-year-old former official in Luxembourg's theatre scene. The man had been convicted of sexual exploitation of minors and child sexual abuse-related offences.
He was sentenced to 13 years in prison, five of them without suspension and eight suspended.
The man had appealed the first-instance judgment, mainly contesting the length of the sentence. In their second-instance ruling, however, the judges referred to the extreme seriousness of the offences and followed the prosecution’s arguments.
The investigation began in 2019 following a tip-off from Europol. During a search of the man’s home, investigators found a large quantity of child sexual abuse material on his computer and hard drives. According to the case file, this included thousands of photos and videos involving minors aged between one and 16.
According to the court, the defendant had not only collected and consumed images and videos of sexual abuse of minors over several years, but had also produced and shared child sexual abuse material himself. The judges considered it particularly serious that the victims included his own daughter and two of the child's friends.
The defendant was found guilty of offences including sexual exploitation of minors, producing and distributing child sexual abuse material, and indecent assault against children.
As the Luxemburger Wort reported this week, the defence had argued on appeal that the man had admitted his guilt and had only appealed because of the length of the prison sentence. The prosecution, however, stated that the offences were particularly serious and had asked for the first-instance ruling to be upheld, with a shorter suspended portion.
The case caused major shock in Luxembourg's cultural scene. Following the first conviction, the theatre federation said it was shocked and stressed that the offences had taken place in a private context, and that there had previously been no indications or rumours concerning the man.
