Original article: https://www.tz.de/tv/bachelor-2020-sebastian-preuss-schwan-attacke-gefaengnis-muenchen-isar-opfer-rtl-zr-13451667.html?fbclid=IwAR1uaDq43GlmJCCPzngc6hKZpBdlL0rCxahei750vNNkpAFIW-J_h67ZOAo

Translation:

Munich - Serious allegations circulated around Bachelor Sebastian Preuss at the beginning of the week: Did he grab a living swan by the neck under the influence of alcohol on his 18th birthday and beat the then 34-year-old Steven L. with it? Did he kick the victim together with a buddy and throw stones and glowing coal at him? And all this just because Steven L. spoke an East German dialect?

This rumor spread in the media after an article by tz.de* in 2009 appeared, reporting on a beating attack with a swan on the Isar River in Munich. The perpetrator described in it, Sebastian P., showed amazing similarities with the current Bachelor. For example, age, profession, criminal history and a pronounced ban on the Schweizer Platz in Munich were reminiscent of the current RTL Bachelor. In the social networks there are already numerous comments in the media that criticize Sebastian Preuss for the accusations.

The 29-year-old kickboxing world champion already admitted full of remorse that he was convicted of various offences in his youth and even spent half a year in jail for assault and battery. But the Munich native denied the swan-fighting accusations in an interview with RTL.de on Friday: "On my 18th birthday, I was with my girlfriend at the Isar, my brother was there at the same time. His friends had a fight with someone, and I wanted to settle the dispute. The argument escalated when the guy attacked me", Sebastian Preuss claims. He goes on to explain in the interview: "I had a German shepherd puppy at the time, which I ran away with. There were no witnesses, the allegations are false and absurd. I have never harmed an animal, I grew up with animals. How can that be, to grab such a swan? I am very concerned about the welfare of animals." Steven L ., now 44, who was injured in the 2008 swan attack, has now contacted our online editorial team* to tell his version of the story. The man from Brandenburg wants to make it clear that Sebastian Preuss' claims "are completely lied and he wants to present himself against his better judgment, here quasi as a victim of confusion and justice. It is also important to him that the candidates for the bachelor format know the truth about Sebastian Preuss. "I actually thought after 10 years that I had forgotten and processed this matter, but this lie story by Sebastian Preuss forces me to take a stand on it", says the family man.

"My girlfriend at the time and current wife and mother of my son were the victims of the three thugs around the current bachelor Sebastian Preuss", says Steven L. This is how he experienced the deed in May 2008: "They threw fist-sized stones at me, full beer bottles and a red-hot charcoal grill. My girlfriend at the time was also attacked and pushed away while trying to protect me from the three perpetrators, when I was already lying on the ground bleeding, because the perpetrators kept kicking my head. The third bat escaped at that time. Istvan Z. and Sebastian P. were sentenced to a suspended sentence, as can also be read in the 2009 tz.de* article. "It was only thanks to my very good physical condition as an athlete that I only had to give up my learned profession because of the consequences of the robbery and can take part in life again after one or two years of medical treatment". Scars on his head, hand and elbow, however, still remind the family man of the robbery, as he describes to our editorial staff.

According to Schwan Attacke: Steven L. contradicts statements by Bachelor Sebastian Preuss

Steven L. also denies Sebastian Preuss' assertion that no witnesses were present: "There were about 100 witnesses present, some of them families with small children who ran away screaming. He describes the current Bachelor as the leader of this attack: "He alone grabbed the swan by the neck and beat me with the animal. He wanted to distinguish himself in front of his friends and engage me in a fight." He himself had given the trio no reason for such an attack. "That I should have attacked him at all, as he points out, is another of Sebastian Preuss' lies." Steven L. has collected numerous newspaper articles about the robbery of that time. Steven L. also revoked a letter from his lawyer in 2009 regarding the court case. It is available to our online editorial staff. "What Sebastian Preuss says in his defense is a lie and the court records and the verdict clearly support my story of the robbery," says Steven L.