Florian Teichtmeister has to answer in court in February for possession of 58,000 child pornographic images and videos. The Austrian actor has confessed. But at the beginning of the investigation, he is said to have believed himself to be in a false sense of security. All the details of the scandal.
Florian Teichtmeister (43) could have become the new Christoph Waltz (66) in Hollywood. His Sisi film “Corsage”, in which he embodies Emperor Franz Joseph, has so far been considered an Oscar candidate. But this steep career now ends with a damper. The actor has been charged with possession of child pornography, it was revealed over the weekend. And Teichtmeister even admits his act. If convicted, the star from “SOKO Kitzbühl” faces between one and two years in prison.
It is thanks to his ex-partner that Teichtmeister will be in the dock of the Vienna district court on February 8th. She reported him in the summer of 2021: for physical attacks, verbal threats, drug possession – and for possession of child pornographic material. At that time, among other things, the Austrian “Standard” reported on the case, but did not name a name, but wrote about a “successful local theater and film actor”. Cocaine was found on him, but not enough for an indictment. The allegations of violence were not substantiated either.
But now it’s clear: According to the indictment, which is available on the “profil.at” portal, from February 2008 to August 2021, Teichtmeister hoarded around 58,000 pictures and videos on various cell phones, laptops, external hard drives, memory cards and USB sticks – files with sexual content Actions also on children under the age of 14. At that time, Teichtmeister voluntarily gave the searching investigators his mobile phone including an access code, but he allegedly did so, according to the “Standard” with reference to legal circles, because the actor had previously deleted all files and thought the police would not find anything on his device.First they came across photos taken by Teichtmeister of clothed people, albeit with “wild comments about sexual violence fantasies”.Only more material was found little by little.
Teichtmeister had been suspected since August 2021 – and it quickly made the rounds in the theater and film industry. This has now been confirmed by director Sebastian Brauneis (45), who worked with Teichtmeister in 2018 for the film “Magician” and until 2020. “Everyone in the industry knew who it was about,” he is quoted as saying in the “Standard”.
In 2021, Brauneis was one of the few people in the industry to publicly comment on the first anonymized reports. “Due to the allegations, which contain the criminal offense of child pornography and thus suspected abuse, it is an urgent concern of mine to absolutely distance myself personally, artistically and professionally in every respect and until clarification is made,” said Brauneis on Facebook, without Teichtmeister by name to mention.
But if the suspicion of child pornography against Teichtmeister seemed to be an open secret in the industry: Why was he able to continue working cheerfully and, for example, was only now thrown out of the renowned Burgtheater in Vienna? The house learned about the results of the investigation and the process “with great horror” from the media, it said in a statement at the weekend.
The “Standard” confronted the Burgtheater with the investigation as early as 2021. At that time, it was said that they “of course wanted to deal intensively with such a case and then draw consequences if necessary,” should the suspicion be confirmed. Nothing happened.
Burgtheater boss Martin Kušej explained that Teichtmeister had been confronted with the allegations at the time, but the actor had “credibly denied all of them”. It would be an “act of revenge by his former partner,” Teichtmeister is said to have claimed at the time. “There would be no charges, no ongoing investigation. When we asked him, he did not confess and vehemently denied the allegations,” said Kušej. Allegedly, Teichtmeister had promised to inform the theater about new developments. “There was no basis for legal action against Florian Teichtmeister in terms of premature termination of employment. Just as little for a leave of absence for Florian Teichtmeister.”
What Teichtmeister’s lawyer said about his client over the weekend sounds completely different. “He confessed throughout the investigation and always cooperated with the authorities,” said Michael Rami. It is “a purely ‘digital’ crime”. In addition, the film star has been undergoing psychological treatment for two years, “with the help of which he has managed to work through the mental problems that brought him into possession of the said files.” Above all, the therapy and the fact that Teichtmeister has no criminal record could help Actors mean a lighter sentence, experts believe.
The makers of the Sisi film “Corsage” are meanwhile “shocked”. They had only now learned about the charges against Teichtmeister. Director Marie Kreutzer can probably brush off a serious chance at the Oscar. Even another unnamed actor from the cast is now suspected of sexual harassment, according to ORF.
At least the industry seems to be in agreement right now: Teichtmeister is currently being banned from the cinema screen, and ORF no longer wants to broadcast films and series with him. “With immediate effect” one refrains from “creating and broadcasting” productions with Teichtmeister.
Particularly bitter: In 2016, Teichtmeister campaigned against child abuse at an event in the Austrian Parliament. There he read several letters from victims.
The Austrian actor Florian Teichtmeister (43) has been charged with possessing child pornography. Teichtmeister will plead guilty in court and accept full responsibility, according to his lawyer. Teichtmeister was dismissed from the Vienna Burgtheater.
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The original of this post “Teichtmeister deleted files – how the police caught him anyway” comes from Bunte.de.
