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CRIME

Police arrest suspected molester of 175 kids

UPDATE: A taxi driver, who is accused of sexually abusing 175 children and adolescents, kept a disabled boy in his apartment in Brandenburg for four weeks.

Police arrest suspected molester of 175 kids
File photo: DPA

Police had been searching for the severely disabled 14-year-old for the last month when he was found in the man’s apartment in Lübbenau, Brandenburg, on Friday.

The man, whose 13-year-old daughter sometimes lived with him, was arrested.

Cottbus prosecutor Petra Hertwig said on Sunday the boy had been sexually abused and the divorced taxi driver is being investigated for 175 cases of child abuse stretching back 20 years.

According to prosecutors, the 14-year-old knew the man and when he went missing four weeks ago after he went to his home.

Prosecutors repeatedly visited the 52-year-old’s home over the period to question him about the disappearance of the boy, but never saw the teenager because he hid behind a cupboard when they came round.

“What happened in the apartment is only gradually coming to light,” police said.

The man is accused of molesting 100 children and 75 adolescents. 

SEE ALSO: Munich midwife 'tried to kill pregnant mums'

BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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