Investigation into child abuse at religious school ‘not necessary’
The St Gallen department of education will not pursue further investigation into allegations of corporal punishment at a religious school co-founded by Jürg Läderach, former boss of Swiss chocolate-maker Läderach. Instead, a contact point will be created.
Since a documentaryExternal link was broadcast on September 21 by Swiss public television, SRF, concerning the evangelical school “Domino Servite” (Serve the Lord) in Kaltbrunn, four more alleged victims have come forward to the St Gallen department of education, the department’s head, Stefan Kölliker, told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA.
In the documentary former pupils at the school, now called the Christliche Schule Linth, talked about being beaten with belts – including by Läderach himself – and living in a climate of fear.
Jürg Läderach wrote to the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA in September saying he had never beaten or otherwise abused children or young people.
In its letter of Wednesday, the department of education emphasised that, in the view of the St Gallen government, the school inspectorate at the time had done enough to investigate suspected cases at the public school.
The fact that this was not successful at the time was explainable and a new investigation was not necessary, the statement continued. “It is partly testimony against testimony. And we have no new findings that would require further measures by the canton,” Kölliker added.
For the school inspectorate, the investigation had been difficult 25 years ago because in the religious community the parents of pupils and the school staff had covered for each other, Kölliker continued. Now the department of education wants to support the alleged victims with a contact point. It remains to be seen what reports reach the department and what steps the canton will take in case of further allegations.
The aim of the contact point is to give former pupils an opportunity to communicate with each other. In addition, people should be able to be referred to independent, professional counselling and support centres. Within the framework of the total revision of the school law, the department of education announced that the extent to which the supervision of public schools can be further expanded is also being reviewed.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Swiss authorities announce cost-cutting in asylum sector
This content was published on
The government notably wants to improve integration into the labour force, particularly for people with protection status S.
Various leaders confirm participation at Ukraine peace conference
This content was published on
The presidents of Poland, Finland, and Latvia and the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium will be at the Swiss-hosted talks in mid-June.
This content was published on
In the winter season up to April 2024, railway and cable car operators ferried 3% more visitors compared to the previous winter, and 5% more than the five-year average.
Rhine flooding: Swiss to invest CHF1 billion with Austria
This content was published on
As part of an international agreement with Austria, the Swiss government wants to pump CHF1 billion ($1.1 billion) into flood protection measures along the Rhine over the next three decades.
Swiss government proposes CHF10 million UNRWA donation
This content was published on
After months of debate, Switzerland plans to give CHF10 million ($11 million) to the UN agency this year, rather than the CHF20 million initially foreseen.
Swiss study: insects mainly migrate at midday and dusk
This content was published on
A study led by the Swiss Ornithological Institute in canton Lucerne is helping to better understand the movement patterns of migratory insects.
Red Cross: 22 staff killed in Middle East since October
This content was published on
The Red Cross and Red Crescent network in Gaza and Israel has lost 22 staff members since last October, the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) said on Wednesday.
Dortmund’s Kobel is first Swiss goalie in Champions League final
This content was published on
Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel has achieved history by becoming the first Swiss goalkeeper to reach a Champion’s League final.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.