Overview
- Authorities say a 59-year-old former leading member of the Otterberg Buddhist monastery was located hiding in a Kaiserslautern hotel and arrested by police.
- Prosecutors allege more than 100 separate cases of child sexual abuse and rape spanning two periods in 2010–2012 and 2020–2021.
- A judge at the Kaiserslautern district court issued a detention order on the grounds of flight risk, and the suspect was taken to a correctional facility.
- Investigators say the man had long ago been removed from all monastery functions and no longer had the right to live there.
- The suspect has invoked his right to remain silent and prosecutors and police are limiting public information because criminal proceedings are ongoing, leaving questions about victims and next steps for the case.