German male nurse charged with sexual abuse of 24 disabled people

A German nurse has been charged with sexually abusing disabled children, young people and adults in his care over the course of several years, prosecutors in Bamberg said on Thursday, reported dpa.

The 33-year-old is accused of having abused 24 disabled people in three different institutions in Bavaria since October 2018, prosecutors said.

The man is believed to have taken close-up photographs of his victims, which are said to include minors under the age of 14, to satisfy his sexual fantasies. He is also said to have touched several of his victims.

Investigators believe that "due to their severe physical and mental impairments, [the victims] unable to recognize and understand the offences committed against them as such."

A probe into the suspect was launched after German investigators received a tip-off from the US National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) on several child pornographic videos having been uploaded to a cloud.

German investigators searched the man's flat in March, securing more than 38,000 child pornography images and over 600 child pornography video files from storage devices, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors accuse the nurse of the production and possession of child pornography, the sexual abuse of children, patients and vulnerable individuals in care homes, and the infringement of privacy and personal rights through the taking of photographs.

The Bamberg regional court must now decide whether the case will go to trial. If found guilty, the suspect, who has been placed in pre-trial detention, could face a prison sentence of between 1 and 15 years.