In May 2020, the Darmstadt Social Court made a remarkable ruling. It awarded a 63-year-old man payments under the Victims Compensation Act and considered it proven that this man had suffered serious crimes in a Catholic children’s home of the order of the “Niederbronner Sisters” in Speyer that fulfilled several criteria of ritual violence. Many victims and victims’ lawyers have long hoped for such a ruling in an OEG case. There is now something remarkable to add: The Diocese of Speyer also publicly assumes that these crimes have been committed and has even publicly named the name of the main perpetrator. There are now a number of updates on this case.

Update 21.10.2021 : The Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office is investigating a Niederbronn sister who is said to have raped a boy who was eight years old at the time in the mid-1990s. For reasons of timing, this crime cannot have a direct connection with the allegations that have been raised so far about incidents in the 1960s/70s. You can read more about this here.

Update 25.4.2021 : Advisory Board for those affected was founded on 24.4.2021.

Update 10.3.2021 : A written report commissioned by the Niederbronner Sisters comes to the conclusion that a handwritten document that appeared after the social court case and allegedly came from a former sister is not authentic. The document is allegedly a kind of “price list” for children placed with priests. The report states that it was probably forged using a computer. The document has not yet been published and was not part of the evidence in the trial in Darmstadt, which got the whole case rolling. The 63-year-old man who won the case stated that he received the document from an anonymous source after the verdict.