On Friday, the Federal Ministry for Art, Culture, Public Service and Sport (BMKÖS) “immediately commissioned the Bundestheater-Holding to create a comprehensive chronology of the information flows in the group to ensure that all levels were acted correctly and with the necessary care would. These processes will also be examined by an external expert,” said State Secretary Mayer in a broadcast on Saturday.
She herself was deeply shocked by the results of the investigation and the pending criminal proceedings against Teichtmeister. “Such behavior has no place in the federal theaters, just as little as in art and culture in general and in all other areas of society,” says Mayer. The “Krone” had referenced its own earlier reports on Saturday: “As early as autumn 2021, the ‘Krone’ reported that an award-winning actor was being investigated for assault, drug abuse and possession of child pornography, among other things.”
Case Teichtmeister: Mayer arranges examination
As early as September 2021, the media reported on investigations into a well-known Austrian actor for child pornography. The allegations have been known to the Burgtheater since then. Why weren’t there consequences immediately? This question is now being asked by other Secretary of State for Culture Andrea Mayer. She announces an examination by external observers.
Kusej: Teichtmeister faced with allegations in 2021
Burgtheater director Martin Kusej emphasized to the APA that Teichtmeister was immediately called in for an interview after the “Standard” and the “Kronen Zeitung” reported allegations against a Burgtheater actor in September 2021, without naming them, and Teichtmeister was identified internally as the person concerned have determined.
“Teichtmeister was confronted with the allegations by the management and credibly denied all of them,” says Kusej. There was a comprehensive survey, which also included talks with the ensemble representative and other members of the ensemble: “But these talks did not lead to any evidence of the crimes that have now been confessed.” Teichtmeister described the accusations as an act of revenge by his ex-partner.
Labor law steps could not be taken based on rumors that could not be verified. “Management has investigated these rumors as best it can, but have not been able to confirm them. There was no basis for taking steps under labor law against Florian Teichtmeister in the sense of premature termination of employment.”
Release from the castle ensemble without notice
On Friday, after the circumstances became known, the Burgtheater issued immediate dismissal from the ensemble against Teichtmeister. The question of how exactly to deal with the evenings originally planned in the near future, on which Teichtmeister should have performed, is still being worked on: “We are making intensive efforts to work out quick solutions for the schedule and cast,” says Kusej.
ORF reporter Hofmann on the charges against Teichtmeister
ORF reporter Christian Hofmann talks about the background to the charges, their content and the upcoming court case.
Works with Teichtmeister are no longer broadcast by the ORF either. The ORF will refrain from producing and broadcasting productions with Teichtmeister with immediate effect, it was announced on Friday. The cinema chain Cineplexx also reacted – it took the film “Corsage” out of the programme. Teichtmeister is known from various ORF series such as “Kommissar Rex”, “SOKO Kitzbühel”, “Tatort” and “Die Toten von Salzburg”. He can currently be seen in the cinema in “Corsage” and the faith thriller “Serviam”.
Investigations for a year and a half
The investigation into the cause has been going on for a year and a half. During a house search, a total of 22 data carriers such as laptops, mobile phones and memory sticks with 58,000 media files with allegedly pornographic depictions of minors were found, according to the criminal complaint by the Vienna public prosecutor’s office, which is available to ORF.
In a period from at least February 2008 to the beginning of August 2021, he “procured and owned” the corresponding files, as it is said. A psychiatric report commissioned by the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is available to the ORF, states that due to the unusually large amount of data, only a limited inventory was possible so far.
“It is therefore to be expected that the actual number of stored files with child pornographic content is even greater,” the report says. The actor is said to have photographed some minors himself at film locations and subsequently made collages with speech bubbles with pornographic content.
Teichtmeister confesses
The accused is “fully confessed”, as one of his lawyers, Michael Rami, told ORF on Friday. He will plead guilty at the trial on February 8 in the Vienna Criminal Court.
Teichtmeister confessed throughout the investigation and always cooperated with the authorities. He has also been undergoing psychological treatment for two years, so he “succeeded in working through the mental problems that brought him into possession of the files in question,” Rami told ORF.
Girlfriend went to the police
The investigations were set in motion by Teichtmeister’s partner at the time – she had discovered one of the child pornographic images on Teichtmeister’s mobile phone and informed the police, as a result the actor’s house was searched. Teichtmeister’s lawyer said “that he is accused of a purely ‘digital’ crime, meaning that he has not committed any criminal acts against people”.
In the investigation files available to ORF, Teichtmeister is quoted as saying: “This illegality gave me a kick, pushed me to my limits. Unfortunately, I lost control of it.” No traces of the child pornographic materials being passed on were found in the course of the investigation.
