Disgraced former Misiones provincial deputy Germán Kiczka and his brother, Sebastián Kiczka, testified in court this week as a trial into accusations of possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) got underway.
At the Palacio de Justicia in Posadas, Misiones Province on Monday, Judges Gustavo Arnaldo Bernie, Viviana Gladis Cukla and César Antonio Yaya opened proceedings against the brothers, who hail from the northern city of Apóstoles, by reading out their indictment.
Germán Kiczka, 44, and Sebastián Kiczka, 47, are formally charged with “possession, facilitation and distribution of CSAM, aggravated by the fact that the victims are under 13 years of age, and sexual abuse.”
The elder brother, Sebastián, also faces a charge of sexual abuse against a minor for an episode that occurred in Apóstoles.
Prosecutors reference 603 digital videos in the investigation casefile that include minors and children in situations of sexual abuse and rape.
Germán allegedly provided 913 multimedia files in total to other paedophiles, some of which featured sexual violence and bestiality.
"The accused downloaded and provided unidentified persons with child sexual abuse material in large quantities. It is easy to see the age of these minors, who are very, very young, in some cases between two and three years old," Dr. Martin Rau, one of the prosecutors in the case, told the court.
Rau denied defence lawyers’ allegations that the case is “political,” but admitted it had received widespread coverage due to Germán Kiczka's role as a provincial deputy for the Activar party.
He said that the case had required “special training due to the type of evidence involved.”
It is expected that a guilty verdict will be reached, with a potential prison sentence of around 15 years for both brothers.
More than 60 witnesses are expected to testify in court during the trial.
Brothers testify
Both brothers testified during the second day of proceedings, which lasted six hours. Video footage of their statements to the court was released on YouTube at the request of defence lawyers.
Sebastián Kiczka refrained from answering direct questions, but asked for the floor to clarify that the computer found in his house was his property and to apologise to his brother.
"In December I presented a letter here in which I stated that the computer was mine, I used it. I would also like to take this opportunity for the umpteenth time to apologise to Sebastián for getting him into this mess," he said.
Germán, the former lawmaker, chose to testify, though he refused to answer questions.
"I declare myself totally and absolutely innocent of all the charges against me. Under oath, I maintain that I have never in my life sought, investigated, downloaded and much less shared child pornography," said the younger brother.
He denounced the case as ”political persecution,” claiming that the provincial government had “destroyed” and the “only real opposition force in Misiones”
Kiczka served as a lawmaker for provincial party Activar before his arrest. The political grouping is led by Pedro Puerta, the son of and former Misiones governor Ramón Puerta, who served two days as Argentina’s President in 2001.
“I still feel and I am a deputy of the province of Misiones,” declared Kiczka, who was ejected from the provincial legislature after his arrest in August 2024.
– TIMES/NA
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