DThe public prosecutor’s office has brought charges against the well-known child psychiatrist and non-fiction author Michael Winterhoff. Winterhoff’s lawyer Kerstin Stirner confirmed the charges were brought, but rejected the allegations. “Tagesschau” and “Süddeutsche Zeitung” had previously reported on it.
A spokeswoman for the Bonn Regional Court said charges had been brought against a 68-year-old man from Bonn on suspicion of bodily harm in 36 cases and served on the defense. She did not name a specific name – this corresponds to the usual procedure of the Bonn district court.
“He will defend himself vigorously against it”
Winterhoff’s attorney, Stirner, said the allegations made in the indictment were unfounded. Winterhoff committed neither bodily harm nor other crimes. “He will continue to defend himself vigorously,” she said. Stirner also criticized the fact that charges had been brought without giving Winterhoff or his defense the opportunity to comment previously promised by the public prosecutor. That will be reprimanded.
Winterhoff worked as a child and adolescent psychiatrist and became known to a broad public with non-fiction books on the subject of education.
Patients are said to have suffered from the consequences for years to come
In August 2021, WDR and “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reported for the first time on former patients who continued to suffer from the consequences of their treatment by the psychiatrist for years. As a result of this reporting, more than a dozen victims filed a complaint with the Bonn public prosecutor’s office.
He is accused of having treated numerous children and young people with sedative drugs, the side effects of which many parents are said to have been unaware of. The reason for the prescription were diagnoses that Winterhoff is said to have invented himself without any technical basis.
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