The hearing of a case in which German national, Bernhard Berry Glaser is accused of aggravated defilement and aggravated child trafficking is expected to start today at the Masaka High court.
Glaser, the director of Ssese Humanitarian Service, an NGO located in Mwena landing site in Kalangala district is facing 8 charges of aggravated defilement and 19 counts of aggravated child trafficking.
It’s alleged that between 2007 and November 2013 at Mwena landing site in Kalangala district, Glaser abused the power and authority he had over the minors that were under his care when he sexually assaulted them.
In a letter addressed to the directorate of public prosecutions dated October 11, Masaka High court judge Winfred Nabisinde indicated that the hearing of the case will end on October 25.
On August 23, justice Nabisinde asked that Glaser be taken through a week-long trial, but his lawyers Caleb Alaka, Evans Ochieng and Leister Kaganzi objected. The lawyers argued that the accused is sick and needs immediate treatment.
The accused also refused to take plea on grounds that he was only comfortable speaking Flemish, a dialect in Belgium. Court, however, didn’t have an interpreter who knew the Flemish language.
Glaser was first arrested in November 2013 and charged after two children under his care accused him of sexual abuse. The minors aged between 12 and 14 years, said that Glaser had repeatedly defiled them since 2007. He stayed in detention for more than two months.
By URN
