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Local News Summary of January, 20th

  • 9-year-old child from Breisgau abused for years by paedophile network
  • Machine shutdown caused wave at Birsfelden power plant 
  • Both Basels want the Federal Government to finance “Heartpiece” development

9-year-old child from Breisgau abused for years by paedophile network

A 9-year-old boy from Staufen im Breisgau was abused, raped, and sold for sex on the Internet for two years. The local police knew at least two of the accused: They met in prison.

It is a Saturday afternoon in September, 2017. Slowly, a horrible realisation is spreading through the small town of Staufen in Germany, about an hour’s drive from Basel. The idyll of the Black Forest is suddenly disturbed by the arrival of a special commando unit from the Federal German Police Office (BKA).

In a supermarket, masked policemen storm in and arrest 39-year-old Christian L. Bit by bit, the village’s inhabitants learn that their neighbour and his partner on the main street have been operating a paedophile network – in which the woman’s son has been abused for years. The police officers must have felt a great sense of relief when they caught the man; for a long time, they could not prove the horrific acts of the previously convicted Christian L.

Such speechless horrors are rare. The case of Christian L. and his partner, Berrin T., has caused outrage and disgust across the world. The couple, from Staufen im Breisgau, put up offers for raping the woman’s son on the Internet. In the small village, near Freiburg, Christian L. was already on the police radar: In 2005, he was convicted for possession on child pornography. Five years later, the district court of Freiburg sentenced him to more than four years in prison because he abused a 13-year-old girl.

Prison contact

The “Badische Zeitung” reported yesterday that Christian L. met a fellow convict in prison who would also go on to abuse the son of Berrin T. After being released from prison, Christian L. was banned from contacting or being near children. The German authorities knew that he was living with Berrin T. and her son but did not take any action. In 2014, a concerned neighbour told the youth welfare office in Breisgau that the mother was keeping the boy inside the house all day behind closed blinds. “There were no trips to the playground, no contact with other children.” When the welfare office asked for evidence, the neighbour gave up. 

Eight purported abusers

Now, the police have uncovered a whole network of paedophiles: Christian L. and Berrin T. were arrested last September following a tip-off, and the boy was taken into the care of a foster family. Christian L.’s prison friend was also arrested in September; in the Alsace, the police arrested a 49-year-old German military officer and a 32-year-old man in Spain. A Swiss person and an IT specialist from Stuttgart were also taken into custody. All of these men are accused of abusing Berrin T.’s son. 

Computer hard drive found in a lake

When the case became public more than a week ago, the police began searching for Christian L's computer. It appears the German authorities were fed up with not having any clues because they even went as far as draining a lake in Staufen in order to look for a missing hard drive. The public prosecution of Freiburg has not yet provided any detailed information about the accused. However, judging from a spokesperson’s statement about the number of crimes being “in the double-figure range,” it seems like a truly horrifying case.

It is equally shocking that the mother had had an “active role” in the crimes against her own son, the public prosecution and the police say. Video material had incriminated the mother. The accused had allegedly filmed the boy being abused at their meetings. As investigations revealed, Berrin T. “voluntarily participated” in these activities. The 47-year-old woman was temporarily moved to the prison hospital in Hohenasperg because of suicidal tendencies. The “Badische Zeitung” reports that Berrin T. and Christian L. could face criminal proceedings in a court this spring.

Machine shutdown caused wave at Birsfelden power plant

A wave with a height of of 1,2 metres tore a Baselland fire brigade boat from its mooring at 3pm on Thursday afternoon.

The waves also damaged a ship in the Auhafen in Muttenz, which caused a small amount of diesel to enter the Rhine. A team of oil spill specialists put up barricades and cleaned the water. The police insist there was no danger to the public or the environment at any stage. Nobody was injured.

It has since emerged that a complete machine shutdown at the Birsfelden power plant had caused the wave. Further investigations are ongoing.

All four turbine and generator groups had been turned off because of a technical incident, power plant director Sascha Jäger told the sda news agency on Friday. Due to this sudden action, water amassed at the top of the dam wall, which resulted in a wave. This in turn caused subsurface suction and another wave to form underneath the wall.

According to Mr Jäger, the four turbines and generators are controlled and supervised by a central system. Singular groups can be turned off during lightning storms and ensuing network problems, for example. However, turning all four groups off at once is unusual.  

The power plant authorities are currently investigating the cause of the technical defect in the main system. Sabotage or interference by third parties can be ruled out, Mr Jäger added.

Both Basels want the Federal Government to finance “Heartpiece” development 

The cantons of Basel-Stadt and Baselland want the Federal Government to pay the full development costs of a tunnel linking the city's two main train stations, known as the “Heartpiece” of the regional suburban railway plans. The total costs are expected to increase from 11,5 billion Swiss francs to at least 12 billion francs.

Baselland construction director, Sabine Pegoraro, and Basel-Stadt’s head of construction, Hans-Peter Wessels, told the media in Liestal on Friday that the “Heartpiece” would solve many traffic problems. Both Basels are handing over identical consultation replies regarding the construction stages for 2030/2035 to the Federal Government.

With the initial development funds of about 120 million francs, the “Heartpiece” planning stage could continue without interruptions until the beginning of the building works, they added. A pre-financing of the development funds, as suggested by the Federal Government, would only be acceptable if there was a guarantee on reimbursement. Both Basel cantons have rejected pre-financing the project at their own risk, however they plan to implement the full financing of the “Heartpiece” until 2040 with the next step. The responsible parties currently estimate that the project could reach its construction stage within seven to ten years. The actual construction period will probably take the same amount of time.

Further important projects

Ms Pegoraro and Mr Wessels were generally “very happy” with the suggested suburban railway plans up to 2035. Further important projects are also part of these plans, for example the double lane extension in Laufental, a rail link to the EuroAirport, more frequent trains to Lörrach, the electrification of the Hochrhein route, and 15-minute intervals to Liestal and Aesch. 

Apart from the “Heartpiece” project costs, both governments also want a definite inclusion of the following suburban railway stops: Solitude and Morgartenring, Dornach Apfelsee, and Ruchfeld. Mr Wessels underlined importance of the Solitude stop because of the soon-to-be-finished expansion of Roche. 

Another project to be included should be the S9 through-train from Sissach to Liestal. After a public vote had rejected a change of the “Läufelfingerli” from train to bus service last November, the canton will hold on to this previous request, Ms Pegoraro said. This demand is also in accordance with the cantonal parliament’s wishes.

The Swiss Federal Government plans to present their proclamation regarding the railway expansion steps 2035 at the end of January. The expansion is financed by the railway infrastructure fund (BIF).