Munich – The Munich I public prosecutor’s office has initiated two further investigations against the former theater director Thomas Pekny (69).
The trigger for this are two advertisements from July this year, said a spokeswoman for the authority. They were received during the trial of the then head of comedy in the Bayerischer Hof in Munich. Pekny’s lawyer Florian Zenger called the new allegations against his client “unfounded” on request.
The public prosecutor’s office accuses Pekny of having approached drunk women at the Oktoberfest and taking them into the rehearsal rooms of the theater. There, according to the prosecution, he is said to have passed on the sleeping women and made videos and photos of them.
The Munich District Court I acquitted him at the end of July for lack of evidence of the allegation of serious sexual abuse. However, the judgment is not yet final because the public prosecutor’s office has appealed. During the process, other allegedly affected persons came forward, and two reports resulted in the two new investigations.
Pekny with his lawyer Florian Zenger in court at the end of July: He was acquitted at the time for lack of evidence
Pekny’s attorney Zenger announced that he is likely to take action against a judicial search warrant.
BILD had already reported on the searches at Pekny on Monday, but the public prosecutor did not want to confirm this with reference to the ongoing investigations.
The public prosecutor’s office demanded four years and three months imprisonment for Pekny in the summer. Three cases were charged at the time, but the woman concerned could only be found in one. The investigation was based on numerous pictures and videos of various women on Pekny’s cell phone. In one of the accused cases, the prosecution even saw rape in their plea.
The presiding judge emphasized in his judgment at the time that the acquittal for Pekny was “a close story”. Maybe everything was “as harmless” as Pekny said it was. “If not, you are very lucky.”
Pekny had denied the sexual abuse allegations in the process. “I would never do something like that without asking first,” he read about his defense. The women agreed. This could not have been ruled out with the certainty necessary for a conviction, the court found.
Because even after the acquittal, some actors and directors clearly distanced themselves from Pekny, the theater director finally gave up his office. The director René Heinersdorff was his successor. At the time, Pekny said: “I have an acquittal, I don’t have to withdraw completely.” But when such a mood prevails, he thinks it is opportune to let Heinersdorff out. The management is in “the very best of hands” with him.