A Swiss LGBT activist has quietly launched a new “family counseling” practice while under investigation for offenses related to sexually exploiting minors at the Queer youth charity he co-founded with his husband.
In 2024, Swiss prosecutors opened an investigation into a gay couple for alleged abuses they committed while operating the Sozialwerk.LGBT+ group, a “safe space” for “queer youth.” While their identities were initially withheld by the Swiss press, Reduxx quickly identified the men as being Holger Niggemann and his husband, Björn Niggemann.
The Niggemanns co-founded the organization, receiving financial support from local governments, the city of Chur, and various non-profit foundations to work with children as young as 13.
🚨BREAKING🚨
— REDUXX (@ReduxxMag) April 16, 2024
A gay couple who ran a Swiss LGBT youth group have been accused of sexually exploiting two teen boys in their care.
Holger and Björn Niggemann received government funding to work with children as young as 13.https://t.co/1yavp0z2Ty
Last April, local media interviewed fifteen individuals who had come into contact with the Niggemann’s through Sozialwerk.LGBT+, but the vast majority opted for anonymity, citing fears of being threatened or pursued by the couple.
Holger, 42, is alleged to have had sexual contact with two 17-year-olds who had sought help for bullying with his organization. Holger was a board member of the group at the time, while his husband Björn was the business manager. The two men are said to have had a three-way sexual relationship with one of the teens, a 17-year old boy, according to a report by Tages-Anzeiger.
According to statements from the teenage victim, he moved in with the married couple while he was still a minor. Distressed at what was reportedly an abusive situation, the 17-year-old wrote on social media that he was in a “a toxic, polyamorous relationship, and it’s tearing me apart.” He also communicated that “when this is over, I’ll have to get my brain fixed. I can’t take it anymore. I will end it.”
Numerous documents are said to substantiate what happened in the group, including text messages, emails and voice messages, reports Tages-Anzeiger. Other board members of Sozialwerk.LGBT+ also came forward to speak to press and confirm their knowledge of what had been happening.
Daniel Huber, a former board member of the association, reported the couple to public prosecutor Annina Grob, and made a statement to media condemning the Niggemanns for their behavior towards the vulnerable youth in their care.
“For us, the behavior of the two is a total abuse of power, and the young people also felt that way. I brought it up again and again,” said Huber, who attended the meetings as a teenager before joining the board in a leadership role. “It is important not to look away from such behavior.”
According to former board members who spoke to press, the Niggemann’s sexual relationship with the boy also led to heated discussions within the organization.
“That this relationship was completely inappropriate from both a professional and moral standpoint was clear to everyone. But one of them could [argue] extremely well. I suddenly felt very conservative for opposing it,” one person said, alleging that one of the Niggemann’s had emotionally or politically manipulated other members of the organization into staying silent about the sexual impropriety.
As the discussions among the board members became increasingly heated, Holger and Björn sent long text messages to colleagues, aiming to justify their behavior.
“In public child and youth work, it was common for a long time for youth workers to have sexual contact with young people,” one of the Niggemann’s reportedly claimed. “In Berlin, street children were placed with pedophilic offenders until the 1990s because only these people could love children,” he went on to say, referring to the Kentler Project in Germany, an experiment which placed foster children into the homes of pedophiles.
Sexuality was apparently a recurring theme in Holger’s approach to youth work. Several individuals report that Sozialwerk.LGBT+ had a “sexualized atmosphere” despite catering to children. The Niggemann’s reportedly often offered teenagers a box full of sex toys like dildos, leather straps, bondage gear, whips, or anal plugs.
Following the allegations of child sexual abuse with pending legal proceedings against Holger and Björn, Sozialwerk.LGBT+ dissolved. “Given the circumstances, the youth center (…) can no longer function as a safe space for young people,” declared the then-chairwoman, Viktoriya Schiefer.
Prior to the 2024 revelations, Holger’s other organization, treffLGBT+, had already been facing criticism for instructing youth to use terms like “fuck holes” and “front holes” for vaginas, to emphasize “intended function.”
Despite the ongoing investigation, Reduxx has now learned that Holger has launched his own office focused on family and sexual counseling in Buchs.
On his website, Holger specifies that he should be referred to using the pronouns “sier,” denoting his non-binary identity, and underscores that counseling children and adolescents on partnerships and sexuality has always been a key focus for him.
While Holger has refused to comment on his new venture to Tages-Anzeiger, his attorney has confirmed that he is legally permitted to establish and operate his office, where he also offers family counseling. The fee for a 90-minute session ranges from 100 to 150 Swiss Francs (approximately 100 to 160 US dollars).
In December of 2024, Reduxx received a notice from the attorney representing the Niggemanns demanding the deletion or significant amendment of our April 2024 article on the case, stating that a civil suit or criminal charges would be pursued unless we complied. We have not.
The alleged incidents at Sozialwerk.LGBT+ is not the first instance where an organization focused on “LGBT+ youth” has been accused of enabling the abuse of vulnerable adolescents. As previously reported by Reduxx, two men from Scotland reported that they were groomed and sexually exploited as minors while utilizing services provided by LGBT Youth Scotland.
EXCLUSIVE: Two survivors have come forward to allege they were "groomed" and sexually exploited as minors while using the services of LGBT Youth Scotland.
— REDUXX (@ReduxxMag) December 22, 2022
The charity was formerly run by a gay rights campaigner convicted of raping an infant.https://t.co/fLESmMs5vi
LGBT Youth Scotland, originally known as the Stonewall Youth Project, is recognized as Scotland’s national charity dedicated to “LGBTI young people.” It engages with individuals aged 13 to 25, offering programs in schools, organizations, and businesses.
The charity was established in 1989 and rebranded in 2003, coinciding with the appointment of James Rennie as CEO, who was convicted and sentenced to lifelong restrictions in 2009 for running what was labeled as Scotland’s “largest pedophile network.”
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