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12 of 13 children deny abuse by accused Dane

The Local Denmark
The Local Denmark - [email protected]
12 of 13 children deny abuse by accused Dane
Around 100 people demonstrated in support of Thomsen outside of the US Embassy in Copenhagen. Photo: Simon Skipper/Scanpix

The remaining child gave "indications" of abuse, but the 22-year-old Dane's lawyer says that the prosecutors have a weak case.

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The trial of Malthe Thomsen, a 22-year-old Dane accused of sexually abusing children in New York, has been postponed by one month so that prosecutors can continue building their case, Danmarks Radio reported on Thursday. 
 
At a short court appearance in New York on Thursday, prosecutors were given until September 17th to build their case against the accused Dane. 
 
Thursday’s hearing revealed that all 13 of the children involved in the case have given video depositions and that 12 of them denied being sexually assaulted by Thomsen. 
 
The remaining child was said to have given “indications” of sexual abuse, but no further details were presented. 
 
 
Thomsen’s lawyer, Jane Fisher-Byrialsen, told DR that Thursday’s short hearing boded well for his case. 
 
“When they say that there is a child that has shown an indication that something happened, that means nothing to me. The children are questioned by the prosecutors and if they believed that whatever was said was so bad, then they should give us the material. But they refuse to give it to us and they would tell us what the child actually said,” she told DR. 
 
Thomsen is charged with sexually assaulting 13 children at an upscale international preschool in Manhattan. He was arrested on June 27th and held in Rikers Island, one of the US’s most notorious prisons, until released on bail on July 8th. Threats from other inmates resulted in his transfer to solitary confinement and in his first public interview he described his experience as “a nightmare”. 
 
“That type of thing [abusing a child, ed.] is something that I have always thought is one of the worst things possible. I can’t imagine doing some of the things they said,” Thomsen told DR in July.  
 
He has steadfastly denied the charges against him and the school found the allegations against him groundless in an internal investigation. 
 
Thomsen’s next court appearance will be on September 17th. While the case is ongoing, the Dane is outfitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet and is unable to leave Manhattan. 
 
Around 100 people protested outside of the US Embassy in Copenhagen on Thursday in support of Thomsen. 

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