Public prosecutors drop investigation into Rammstein frontman

Public prosecutors in Berlin have dropped their investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by Till Lindemann, the lead singer of the popular German metal band Rammstein, they said Tuesday.

The evaluation of the available evidence did not provide any indication that Lindemann "performed sexual acts on women against their will," the public prosecutor's office wrote in a detailed statement.

Reacting to the news, Lindemann posted his own brief statement on Instagram.

"I would like to thank everyone who waited impartially for the investigation to end. Till" the 60-year-old wrote.

In recent months, several women had raised allegations of improper conduct against Lindemann, in a case that garnered widespread attention across Germany.

Some had claimed they were selected and recruited during concerts and asked if they wanted to come to the after-show party. According to some of the women, sexual acts took place.

Lindemann consistently denied the allegations.

"So far, alleged victims have not contacted the law enforcement authorities, but only (contacted) journalists, even after the investigation became known," the prosecutors said in an unusually long statement.

It had therefore not been possible to "sufficiently specify" allegations or to clarify the credibility of possible victims, the statement continued.

In July, Lindemann had rejected all allegations via a statement issued by his lawyer.

"In the social networks, especially on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, various women made serious accusations against our client," a statement from his lawyer said.

"It was repeatedly alleged that women at Rammstein concerts were drugged with the help of knockout drops or alcohol to enable our client to perform sexual acts on them. These allegations are without exception untrue," the lawyer's statement continued.