Rammstein update: State prosecutors drop investigations against Lindemann and casting director
Follow up to this post
Where we left off: Lindemann's lawyer are still sending cease and desist letters to journalists writing about the allegations or victims coming forward. Member Christian "Flake" Lorenz has also been accused of sexually assaulting multiple women.
Some things I mentioned it in the last global gossip post: Reports from Austria emerged in mid-July that he apparently assaulted a woman and told her "don't make a fuss" when she refused to sleep with him after a concert. In 2011 he apparently had an affair with a (then) 15 year old girl when he was 47. Her friends and family confirmed the story to journalists. Two other band members apparently found out about their relationship after they had already broken up.
Today, the Public Prosecutor's Office in Berlin announced that they have dropped their investigation against Lindemann and the female casting director.
In a statement, they said that after the evaluation of press reports that refer to anonymous whistleblowers, as well as the additional questioning of witnesses, there is no evidence that Lindemann engaged in sexual acts with women against their will. There is also no evidence for the allegation that Lindemann provided them with disabling substances or exploited a power imbalance towards underage sexual partners.
They added that because women who may have been affected have not yet reported to the public prosecutor, the investigations were primarily based on press reports and anonymous tips.
The statements of witness Kyla Shyx, who initially made allegations via YouTube (I translated her video talking about her experience at their concert here), were deemed "too vague" during the interrogations.
In the case of the alleged victim Shelby Lynn, who was the first one to speak up about her experiences at their concerts, the Lithuanian authorities have reportedly declined to initiate an investigation. According to a spokesperson of the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office, they have received documents from the Lithuanian authorities which were then evaluated. In this case as well, there were no specific factual indications of sexual offenses by the accused.
The accusation of sexual abuse involving a young woman who allegedly entered into a sexual relationship with Lindemann when she was 15 years old could also not be substantiated. This was due to the witness remaining anonymous and being unavailable for questioning.
Lindemann's lawyers announced in a statement that they would continue to take civil action against the outlets that accuse their client.
The investigation against the "casting director" that allegedly contaced the victims on social media and scouted them for after partys was also dropped. According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, there also appear to be no indications of behavior that would be criminally relevant.
On another note, Lindemann and his lawyers were trying to legally silence Shelby Lynn from stating that she had been drugged at one of their concerts, the cessation of her Instagram profile description "The girl that got spiked AT Rammstein", excluding the underlying phrase "please read my posts", and he sought to prevent a segment of Lynn's interview with the BBC.
The Hamburg District Court however dismissed all injunction requests. Regarding the central accusation of being drugged without her knowledge ("I got spiked"), the court concludes that Lynn's statement constitutes a permissible expression of opinion. Concerning the statements made in the BBC interview, the Court rejected a claim for injunction, with the consideration that the statement "She believes her drink was spiked ..." is not a phrasing of Shelby Lynn, but of the BBC author.
sources: deutschlandfunk, spiegel, lto, translated by me
Where we left off: Lindemann's lawyer are still sending cease and desist letters to journalists writing about the allegations or victims coming forward. Member Christian "Flake" Lorenz has also been accused of sexually assaulting multiple women.
Some things I mentioned it in the last global gossip post: Reports from Austria emerged in mid-July that he apparently assaulted a woman and told her "don't make a fuss" when she refused to sleep with him after a concert. In 2011 he apparently had an affair with a (then) 15 year old girl when he was 47. Her friends and family confirmed the story to journalists. Two other band members apparently found out about their relationship after they had already broken up.
Today, the Public Prosecutor's Office in Berlin announced that they have dropped their investigation against Lindemann and the female casting director.
In a statement, they said that after the evaluation of press reports that refer to anonymous whistleblowers, as well as the additional questioning of witnesses, there is no evidence that Lindemann engaged in sexual acts with women against their will. There is also no evidence for the allegation that Lindemann provided them with disabling substances or exploited a power imbalance towards underage sexual partners.
They added that because women who may have been affected have not yet reported to the public prosecutor, the investigations were primarily based on press reports and anonymous tips.
The statements of witness Kyla Shyx, who initially made allegations via YouTube (I translated her video talking about her experience at their concert here), were deemed "too vague" during the interrogations.
In the case of the alleged victim Shelby Lynn, who was the first one to speak up about her experiences at their concerts, the Lithuanian authorities have reportedly declined to initiate an investigation. According to a spokesperson of the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office, they have received documents from the Lithuanian authorities which were then evaluated. In this case as well, there were no specific factual indications of sexual offenses by the accused.
The accusation of sexual abuse involving a young woman who allegedly entered into a sexual relationship with Lindemann when she was 15 years old could also not be substantiated. This was due to the witness remaining anonymous and being unavailable for questioning.
Lindemann's lawyers announced in a statement that they would continue to take civil action against the outlets that accuse their client.
The investigation against the "casting director" that allegedly contaced the victims on social media and scouted them for after partys was also dropped. According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, there also appear to be no indications of behavior that would be criminally relevant.
On another note, Lindemann and his lawyers were trying to legally silence Shelby Lynn from stating that she had been drugged at one of their concerts, the cessation of her Instagram profile description "The girl that got spiked AT Rammstein", excluding the underlying phrase "please read my posts", and he sought to prevent a segment of Lynn's interview with the BBC.
The Hamburg District Court however dismissed all injunction requests. Regarding the central accusation of being drugged without her knowledge ("I got spiked"), the court concludes that Lynn's statement constitutes a permissible expression of opinion. Concerning the statements made in the BBC interview, the Court rejected a claim for injunction, with the consideration that the statement "She believes her drink was spiked ..." is not a phrasing of Shelby Lynn, but of the BBC author.
sources: deutschlandfunk, spiegel, lto, translated by me