The allegations undermine the trust of patients and their families
In the quiet corridors of children's hospitals near Berlin, a paediatrician entrusted with the care of the young allegedly spent twelve years exploiting that trust in the most grievous way imaginable. German prosecutors have now charged the 46-year-old Brandenburg doctor with 130 counts of sexual abuse, including the rape of children in his care — crimes that endured, in part, because the institutional safeguards meant to prevent them were never consistently honoured. The case arrives as Europe grapples with a broader and painful question: how do systems designed to heal become places where harm goes unseen for so long?
- A mother's refusal to stay silent broke open a twelve-year silence — her complaint to police about her child's treatment at Rathenow hospital set the entire investigation in motion.
- 130 charges, including child rape, now hang over a doctor who allegedly used the intimacy and authority of medical examinations as cover for serial abuse of his most vulnerable patients.
- A foundational safeguard — the requirement that two staff members be present during any child examination — was repeatedly ignored, leaving children alone with their alleged abuser.
- The Havelland healthcare group, caught between institutional shame and public accountability, has launched an external review and pledged full cooperation with prosecutors.
- The case resonates across Europe alongside the 2025 French conviction of surgeon Joël Le Scouarnec, deepening pressure on healthcare systems to confront how predators can operate within them for decades.
A 46-year-old paediatrician in Brandenburg has been charged with 130 counts of sexual abuse — including the rape of children — most of them patients at hospital clinics near Berlin. German prosecutors say the alleged crimes unfolded between 2013 and 2025, carried out largely during routine medical examinations. The doctor has been in custody since November, when a mother's suspicion that her child had been harmed during treatment led her to contact authorities.
The investigation centred on two clinics in the Brandenburg towns of Rathenow and Nauen, both operated by the Havelland healthcare group. Prosecutors in Potsdam confirmed the formal charges on May 6, describing offences against sexual autonomy across 130 cases, including serious abuse and rape. The number of individual child victims has not been specified, though the scale of the charges implies dozens. A regional court will now determine whether the case proceeds to trial.
As the arrest became public in January, an uncomfortable truth emerged: the hospital system had repeatedly failed to enforce its own two-person examination protocol — a basic rule requiring a second staff member to be present whenever a child was examined. That rule existed precisely to prevent this kind of abuse. The healthcare group's medical director acknowledged that the allegations had shattered patient trust, and following the formal charges, the group pledged full support for prosecutors and expressed sympathy for all those harmed.
The case arrives in the shadow of France's reckoning with surgeon Joël Le Scouarnec, sentenced in 2025 to 20 years for abusing hundreds of child patients over decades. Together, the two cases force a harder look at how healthcare institutions monitor their own staff — and how long harm can persist when the most elementary protections are left unenforced.
A 46-year-old paediatrician in Brandenburg has been charged with 130 counts of sexual abuse, including the rape of children, most of them patients under his care at hospital clinics near Berlin. German prosecutors announced the charges this week, alleging the crimes occurred between 2013 and 2025. The doctor has been held in custody since November, after a mother grew suspicious that her child had been assaulted during treatment and reported her concerns to authorities.
The investigation began when that mother's complaint prompted police to act. She believed her child had been harmed while receiving care at the paediatric ward of Rathenow hospital, one of two clinics in the Brandenburg towns of Rathenow and Nauen where the doctor worked for the Havelland healthcare group. Investigators seized data storage devices they believed contained relevant material. The prosecutor's office in Potsdam, the state capital, confirmed the formal charges on May 6, though the doctor's name has not been released. A regional court in Potsdam will now decide whether the case proceeds to trial.
The scope of the alleged abuse is stark. Prosecutors stated the doctor is charged with "offences against sexual autonomy in a total of 130 cases," including "serious sexual abuse of children and rape." They did not specify how many individual children were victimized, though the charges suggest dozens. Most of the alleged offences occurred, prosecutors said, "in the course of his professional duties"—meaning the doctor allegedly exploited his position and access to vulnerable patients during routine medical examinations and treatment.
When news of the arrest emerged in January, the Havelland Kliniken group launched an internal review with outside experts. A troubling detail surfaced: the hospital system had failed to consistently enforce its "four-eyes protocol," a safeguard requiring two staff members to be present during any examination of a child. This basic protection had been breached repeatedly. Mike Lehsnau, the group's medical director, acknowledged the gravity of the situation, saying the allegations "undermine the trust of patients and their families." After the charges were formally announced, the healthcare group released a second statement pledging to "fully support" prosecutors and offering its "sympathy" to all patients who may have been harmed and their families.
The case echoes a larger reckoning in European healthcare. In France last year, a 74-year-old former surgeon, Joël Le Scouarnec, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after a three-month trial for sexually abusing hundreds of patients, most under 15. Le Scouarnec had worked as a digestive surgeon across Brittany and western France, often operating on children with appendicitis. Between 1989 and 2014, he was accused of 111 rapes and 189 sexual assaults at a dozen hospitals. Many of his victims were under anaesthetic or still waking from surgery; others were assaulted in their hospital beds. The average age of his victims was 11. That conviction intensified pressure on the French government to address systemic failures in both healthcare and the justice system.
The German case now raises similar questions about institutional oversight, staff training, and the mechanisms meant to protect children in medical settings. The fact that a safeguard as elementary as the two-person rule was not consistently applied suggests deeper problems in how these institutions monitor themselves and their staff. As the Potsdam court prepares to decide whether to move forward with trial, the Havelland group and other healthcare providers in the region are scrambling to strengthen their protocols and restore public confidence in a system that failed to protect its most vulnerable patients.
Notable Quotes
The allegations undermine the trust of patients and their families— Mike Lehsnau, medical director of Havelland Kliniken
Our sympathy goes out to all patients who may have been harmed, as well as to their families— Havelland Kliniken group statement
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
How did this doctor manage to abuse so many children over so long without being caught?
The two-person rule existed on paper but wasn't enforced consistently. He had access, authority, and the trust that comes with wearing a white coat. It took a mother noticing something was wrong with her own child to break the silence.
What made this mother suspicious?
The source doesn't say exactly what she observed. But she trusted her instinct enough to report it to police rather than accept an explanation. That single act of attention triggered the whole investigation.
Why mention the French surgeon case?
Because it shows this isn't isolated to Germany. A surgeon in France abused hundreds of children over decades in hospitals across the country. When patterns like that emerge in different countries, it suggests the problem isn't one bad actor—it's systemic. Hospitals aren't watching closely enough.
What happens now?
The court decides whether to proceed to trial. But the immediate consequence is that hospitals are tightening safeguards. The Havelland group is conducting a full review. Other clinics are probably doing the same. The damage to trust, though—that takes much longer to repair.
Do we know how many children were actually harmed?
No. The charges list 130 counts of abuse, but that doesn't equal 130 children. Some children may have been abused multiple times. Prosecutors haven't disclosed the actual number of victims, which suggests the investigation is still ongoing.