CZECH REPUBLIC: An internationally renowned Czech children's choir has been rocked by accusations that for 20 years its director sexually abused dozens of young singers.
The Bambini di Praga choir has won rave reviews on its many world tours, often performing with the Czech Republic's finest orchestras, and reportedly even counts the current president, Vaclav Klaus, among its alumni.
But its wholesome reputation was shattered when conductor Bohumil Kulinsky, the son of the choir's founder and its long-time director, was arrested for allegedly molesting 49 singers between 1984-2004.
Czechs were almost as intrigued by the source of the charges as they were appalled by the allegations themselves.
The original accusation came from psychologist Jiri Los, who is married to Mr Kulinsky's ex-wife. He says he went to the police after she told him that the conductor had abused her sister in 1991, when she was a 12-year-old member of the choir.
Mr Kulinsky's mother and current wife - also a former choir member - have supported his denials of any wrongdoing, and ran the ensemble while he spent 219 days in custody before his release pending trial last July.
The trial began this week, with Mr Kulinsky (47) rejecting allegations that he had sex with one underage choir member in 1991 and groped another in 1999.
Prominent defence attorney Tomas Sokol suggested his client was the victim of "malicious hearsay". There wasn't even a remote indication of something sexual," he told the Prague Post newspaper.
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