On Monday, the defendant decided to take the stand. He explained that he felt remorse about what had happened and said he wanted to apologise to the children who didn't deserve this type of treatment. He also stated that while he couldn't undo his actions, he could swear that nothing like that would ever happen again.
"Are you aware of the fact that you have a problem?" the court president asked the defendant. "There has to be an issue there for me to take advantage of a situation like that", he answered.
The defendant stated that he had wanted to see "all of the children"; according to him, he filmed the children and looked at the footage but then deleted the material because it didn't interest him that much.
"The naked pictures left me indifferent!", the former teacher told the judge. He regretted being removed from his job because it was, as he described it, "his passion". He told the court that the children had felt safe with him and that they got on well.
The defendant stated that while he never touched a child on or in their private area, he was interested in their development in that area as well as in the chest area.
He explained to the court that he told himself in 2015: "That was the last time!" and that since then, he had lost the urge to act even though there had many opportunities since.
The judge asked the defendant whether his urges had simply evaporated, to which he replied: "With everything that I went through, I am cured!"
The former teacher talked of "4 huge mistakes between 2007 and 2015", but the prosecution reminded him of another incident dating back to the year 2003.
According to the psychiatrist assigned to the case, the defendant requires further work because he still had not admitted that he was sexually attracted to the children.
Lawyers Anne-Marie Schmit and Gana-Moudache, who represent five different parties, have demanded a total of €57,500 in damages.
A verdict is expected for Tuesday afternoon.
