Polish journalist 'investigating' his sexual history suspended from newspaper

Marcin Kaczki interviewed former partners and admitted to abusive behavior. Photo: Rafal Komorowski

A leading self-investigating Polish journalist was suspended from his newspaper after an article sparked allegations of sexual abuse from previous girlfriends.

Marcin Kaczki wrote a candid piece about his alcoholism and troubled relationships, in which he interviewed former partners and admitted to abusive behavior. But after reading the lengthy article, one of his previous girlfriends said he left out key details, accusing him of «disgusting behavior» and failing to accurately describe what he did to her and other victims.< /p>

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Mr Kaczki, who has won a number of awards for his investigative reporting and helped uncover cases of sexual abuse and harassment, was immediately suspended from his job at Gazeta Wyborcza, one of Poland's most popular newspapers.

In his article entitled «Gazeta Wyborcza “My journalism: alcohol, failed therapy, ill-loved women, neglected daughters and the fear of dawn,” Mr. Kachki began with how he contemplated suicide in 2017 after “a two-day bath in alcohol,” and then went on to describe . his complicated relationships and how he «loved flirtation, conquest and erotic tension.»

He also said he was told that his behavior sometimes “crossed the line,” that he should remember “that no means no,” and that he “harmed many women psychologically.”

G- Kachki went on to say that before writing the article, he contacted some women he knew to find out what he was like and to apologize. He also wrote that his character has now changed.

“Disgusting behavior”

While the article received initial praise in some quarters for its apparent honesty, any chance of Mr. Kaczki getting lasting redemption from it was dashed when Karolina Rogaska, a journalist for Newsweek Polska, posted a scathing statement on Facebook about his treatment from the journalist’s side.

“I am one of the victims, and everything is not okay,” Ms. Rogaska wrote. “Marcin, if you had been honest in your article, why didn’t you write directly what you did to me and the other girls?

“How did you find it appropriate to undress and masturbate, despite my obvious horror? Disgusting behavior. Disgusting.”

Ms. Rogaska said Mr. Kachki contacting her before writing the article seemed more like an attempt to get material than insight, and concluded by saying that she was “tired of hypocrisy, the fact that rapists are patted on the back, tired of them pretending to understand.”

Following the publication of the article and Ms. Rogaska's statement on Saturday, authorities at the School of Reporting, the journalism college where Mr. Kachki worked, said they had suspended him from contact with students several weeks ago after Ms. Rogaska told them that she was “hurt” by his behavior.

Gazeta Wyborcza published a statement on Sunday saying Mr. Kaczki had not mentioned his suspension from college.

“Marcin Kaczki , when he handed over his finished article, he did not tell anyone about it, which undermined our trust and the trust of our readers,” the newspaper said in a statement. “That is why we decided to remove Marcin Kaczki and prohibit him from working with our authors.”

He added that he was awaiting further information from the School of Reporting on the allegations against Mr. Kachki, and that there had been no reports of inappropriate behavior during his time at the newspaper.

Mr. Kachki responded to criticism, stating that “the article went through all the editorial stages” and that “before publication it was read and checked by the editors.”

He added: “My mistake was that I believed that I could show the guys my path and how I tried to correct myself.”