Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/451763
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 JANUARY 2015 4 News Danish sex predator may have had 200 victims – press reports MATTHEW AGIUS MALTATODAY has been told that Michael Camilo Precht, the Dan- ish man who on Friday was handed a suspended sentence for touching women while pretending to be a doc- tor and modelling agent, may have as many as 200 victims in Denmark – some as young as 12. Danish media reports that the man has been involved in more than 25 cases of indecent exposure to young and underage girls in Denmark, after having claimed to be, amongst oth- ers, a doctor, therapist, teacher and modeling agency caster. Precht has been nicknamed "steth- oscope-man", in Denmark and a Danish Facebook group, warning girls and parents of the man has also been created. Following an appeal for more in- formation, this newspaper was con- tacted by the father of one of the girls targeted by the con-artist in Den- mark, who said that Precht had been expelled from his medical studies both in Denmark and Norway. "Nothing seems to stop him, unfor- tunately, so the next best thing to do is to inform people that he is nearby," said the father. The man, who also sent this newspa- per a dossier of Danish news articles about Precht, estimated the number of victims to be as high as 200. He said that Precht targets women and girls "from the age of 12 and up". From the Danish newspaper re- ports, it appears that Precht has been arraigned at least 10 times since 2012 and has even received custodial sen- tences – usually spent in closed psy- chiatric wards. Last November, a judge in Oslo permanently barred the sex offender from entering Norway because of his crimes. The charges, and his modi oper- andi, vary only slightly in the scores of times that he is alleged to have struck: Precht contacts potential vic- tims on social media claiming to be a doctor, a medical student, a physi- otherapist or from a modelling agen- cy. Under the pretence of performing insurance-related "medical tests", he then attempts to convince the girls to expose their legs, back, stomach and breasts, which he sometimes also touches. MaltaToday tracked down one of Precht's Maltese victims, who explained that he had been asking around for names of girls to model for a photoshoot and had contacted her through Facebook. When asked whether it was normal to be asked to submit for a medical simply for a photoshoot, the girl an- swered that in her modelling experi- ence she had never been required to do so, however one of the other girls had told her that she had once been required to sit for such a medical in the past, so she "didn't think too much about it." While she never noted his behav- iour to be violent, she said it was not normal either. The victim described Precht's demeanour as "agitated and nervous". "He acted oddly, especially during the medical exam," she said. When she later tried to look up the company for which he said he worked, "Lifeguard Academy", it did not appear to exist. She had not been aware of the Dane's arraignment before the tel- ephone call, much less his notoriety, but after having the effect of his sen- tence explained to her, she said she felt that justice had not been done. "He still walked free. It's still not safe," she said. magius@mediatoday.com.mt STARTS 3O TH JANUARY FOR CARDHOLDERS AND 31 ST JANUARY FOR GENERAL PUBLIC THE SALE CONTINUES UNTIL THE 4 TH FEBRUARY MIRIAM DALLI HEALTH parliamentary secretary Chris Fearne has ordered an internal investigation at Mater Dei Hospital to establish how a fraudster man- aged to bypass security and pose as a doctor to touch women. 25-year-old Michael Camilo Precht was arraigned in court on Friday and handed a suspended sentence after tricking three women into a fake medical examination. The court heard that Precht by- passed security officers using a Dan- ish tag that looked like the one used by doctors at Mater Dei. "The Parliamentary Secretary for Health has asked Mater Dei Hospital to investigate the case," a spokesper- son for Chris Fearne told MaltaTo- day in reply to questions. Shadow health minister Claudette Buttigieg also called for a tightening of security. The court heard that he contacted three young Maltese models, telling them that he needed their services to set up a website for a company called Lifeguard Academy. He told the vic- tims that a medical test was needed for insurance purposes, but that this wouldn't be a problem as he was a doctor and could do it himself. Using his Danish medical tag, he went to Mater Dei after 6pm, found an available room after pass- ing through security, and conducted "medical tests" on them. The tests included an ECG, for which the women would have to expose their chest, and a breast examination. He gave the girls a phony medical report on a stolen hospital form, ad- vising them to "find a boyfriend who can give you a massage every day". At this point, the girls realized that something was amiss and informed the police. This was not the first time that Precht lured young women on the pretext of finding a job. A Facebook community page set up in February 2014 urged Danish authorities to act after several girls came forward accusing Precht of having conducted fake medical ex- aminations on them. Precht had already been found guilty of indecent exposure. Ac- cording to the 'Stop Michael Camilo Precht' Facebook page, he had the habit of creating contact with wom- en through the social media, posing as a sports doctor. According to Danish website met- ro express, Precht was sentenced to three months in prison for 27 inde- cent exposure incidents of young women and underage girls in August 2013. Internal investigation into fake doctor's security breach Fake doctor MIchael Camilo Precht - walking free