A shocking case of pedophilia and child pornography has shocked Romania! A 43 year old German national, Timur Ömür, investigated for sexually abusing 36 Romanian underage girls, was released after prosecutors "forgot" to ask for an extension of his preventive arrest.
It happened in 2022, when The Foundation For The Defense Of Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS) found serious irregularities during the investigation and referred the case to the Judicial Inspection, DIICOT, the Prosecutor's Office of the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the Ministry of Justice, requesting checks on how the case was handled and the sanctioning of those responsible.
Now, in 2026, not only has the same case not been solved, but there is a risk that the statute of limitations may have expired. The pedophile abused over 36 young girls, 8 of the sexually abused victims were as young as 13 years old, and another 8 victims were 14 years old. The youngest victim was only 12 years old.
Although he initially admitted his crimes, he was released in March 2022 from preventive arrest due to the fact that prosecutors finalized the indictment too late. Moreover, the details of the investigation revealed that the pedophile had entered and exited Romania 8 times in the course of a year during the prosecution action.
What is the level of incompetence and indifference of the Romanian state authorities who allowed an individual to molest children and, after his arrest, to set him free? How can a parent feel safe in Romania?
Four years after the defendant was released from preventive arrest, he has still not been sentenced. Procedural delays and the excessive length of the trial may result in the offender escaping without a conviction for sexually abusing 36 children.
FACIAS calls on the competent authorities to urgently check the way in which this case was handled and to determine who is to blame for delaying the proceedings and postponing the case until the statute of limitations has expired.