Investigation against NRW mayor for attempted obstruction of justice
Mayor Jürgen Kleine-Frauns is now also under investigation in connection with allegations of abuse against the former deputy mayor of Lünen. There is suspicion of a breach of official secrecy and attempted obstruction of justice in office, explained the Dortmund public prosecutor's office in response to a dpa inquiry.
A spokesperson for the town in the district of Unna said that the mayor, who is independent of the party, had spoken about the suspicion in the main and finance committee on Thursday evening. He had read out a statement in which he emphasized that he had nothing to reproach himself with. Several media outlets such as "Bild" and "Ruhr Nachrichten" had previously reported.
Former deputy mayor Daniel Wolski was remanded in custody at the end of October for allegedly sexually abusing minors in return for payment. His defense lawyer did not want to comment on the allegations at the time. While in custody, the SPD politician resigned from office.
In March, extensive data material was seized during a search, including chat logs, and data carriers with child and youth pornographic content were also found in the politician's possession.
It has now become known that Mayor Kleine-Frauns had previously forwarded an email alleging possible sexual misconduct by Wolski to Wolski himself and then deleted it. A spokesperson for the Dortmund public prosecutor said that Kleine-Frauns had not informed the police.
In his statement, the mayor said that he had received an email sent under a false name in January 2023 in which allegations had been made but no specific criminal offense had been described. At the time, he was certain that this was a "perfidious smear campaign" against his deputy at the time. He had therefore informed Wolski.
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The mayor, Jürgen Kleine-Frauns, admitted to forwarding an incriminating e-mail about former deputy mayor Daniel Wolski's alleged misconduct to Wolski himself and then deleting it. However, Kleine-Frauns failed to report this to the authorities, according to the Dortmund public prosecutor.
The deletion of the e-mail by the NRW mayor could be seen as an attempt to obstruct justice in the ongoing investigation against him and Wolski, raising questions about Kleine-Frauns' determination to uphold integrity and transparency as the mayor of the region.
Source: www.ntv.de
