Pedophilia scandal

Hungary: pardoned man complains of “desire for revenge”

Procession with candles in front of the children's home in Bicske, where Endre K. worked(Bild: APA/AFP/ATTILA KISBENEDEK)

Hungary's president has stumbled over his pardon. Now the former deputy director of an orphanage who was convicted of covering up his superior's sexual assaults on orphans has spoken out, but is now enjoying his freedom again. Endre K. complained in a Facebook post about the "lust for revenge of godless and hateful people".

K. wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday that he felt sympathy from many sides. At the same time, he expressed his horror at the "desire for revenge of godless and hateful people", for whom the resignation of President Katalin Novák and the withdrawal of former Justice Minister Judit Varga from public life were "not enough". In fact, the protests against head of government Viktor Orbán and his party, organized by opposition parties, NGOs and left-wing celebrities, are continuing. A large rally is planned for Friday at Heroes' Square in Budapest.

In his post, K. also mused about a return to Transylvania (a region in Romania with a strong Hungarian minority) . However, the educator explained that the press there is already stirring up trouble against him in order to divide the local population.

Hungary's head of state Katalin Novák had to resign.(Bild: APA/AFP/Attila KISBENEDEK)

Even before Novák's resignation, a long statement on the case had appeared on the same Facebook page. In it, the author, who claims to be K., writes of a "witch hunt" against the president and against himself, who is "firmly against paedophilia" and has "done nothing wrong". "I have neither committed pedophile crimes nor covered up for anyone. My conscience is clear," the man swears. Rather, it was he who had provided the decisive clues to reveal another perpetrator in addition to the main defendant, the former head of the home.

He still cannot explain why he was convicted despite the "evidence" that supported his statements. His pardon was also not a "conspiracy in secret circles" but, in his view, had been granted for understandable reasons, especially as numerous children had also testified in court that they had not been put under pressure by K. when it came to coming to terms with their experiences of abuse.

Facebook profile deleted again
At the time the statement was published last weekend, it was still unclear who was behind the lines. A few days later, K.'s wife confirmed to a Hungarian media outlet that it was her husband's profile. However, this was deleted after the last entry on Thursday.