A youth football coach for the German third division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden has been arrested on suspicion of having drugged and raped several boys.
The Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office is investigating the coach, who has been named only as Sven B., 34, due to strict local privacy laws, after footage reportedly emerged showing the alleged rapes.
The suspect, who according to German daily Bild has only been with the club since July 2019, has reportedly been in custody since 9th December.
Investigators searched the suspect’s apartment, as well as his club locker and other storage areas on 27th October and they reportedly discovered several storage devices as well as a mobile phone containing footage of seven boys being raped. The footage had reportedly been recorded only a few days prior to the search.
The victims had reportedly been drugged beforehand. The public prosecutor is quoted by Bild as saying: “There is a suspicion that the injured party was previously put into a state of unconsciousness by means of alcohol or other intoxicating substances in order to enable the attacks to be carried out.”
It is currently unclear if the alleged victims are youth players from the club. None of the victims had been identified at the time of writing.
The youth coach reportedly has priors, having allegedly abused two young people between 2007 and 2014, still according to Bild.
SV Wehen Wiesbaden football club confirmed that there is an investigation that is ongoing against their former coach. The club said: “It is a serious and stressful process for our association. Especially since we had fortunately been spared such things so far.”
SV Wehen Wiesbaden says it has dismissed the youth coach and that staff are working closely with the police and the public prosecutor.
The club has also informed parents that it “has separated from the coach due to ongoing investigations”.
The case has reportedly caused a stir in Germany, with an upholstery business belonging to the family members of the suspect being ransacked in the town of Hattersheim and the company car torched.
It is believed that the perpetrators were youths acting out of blind revenge over the abuse allegations, according to Bild.
