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A father of six accused of keeping his young children in a basement has criticized authorities for “sticking their noses in” after inviting MailOnline to his home to prove his innocence.
Tom Landon, 54, was held by police after he used pepper spray on social workers, who had been called to investigate after neighbors reported crying children.
Authorities found three boys and three girls between the ages of seven months and seven years in the basement of the home, which Landon had recently purchased in the quaint Austrian town of Obritz, near the Czech border and 60 miles north of Vienna.
But after spending 24 hours in police custody, he told MailOnline he had been held simply because his “off the grid” lifestyle had upset local deputy mayor Erich Greil, who was running for re-election.
Tom Landon, 54, pictured above, spent 24 hours in police custody after authorities found three boys and three girls between the ages of seven months and seven years in the basement of his home.
The children were found in the basement, pictured above, under their recently purchased home in the quaint Austrian town of Obritz.
And he also dismissed local media reports that his family was British, insisting that his wife was German and the children Austrian.
Landon, who has written more than 30 books critical of his country’s government, said: “This has been very traumatic for my wife and children and it’s because people like the deputy mayor have been sticking their noses in where they shouldn’t be. necessary”. to be.
“My family is terrified, they don’t want to go back to the house where we lived for almost a year because they are afraid that the police will return. Do you know that we had policemen here with guns and a battering ram to gain access to my property?
And all because the deputy mayor doesn’t like the lifestyle we’ve chosen and wants us out. Do you really think he would be free if he had kept my little children in a basement?
Landon, who lived in London before returning to his native Austria, invited MailOnline into the six properties he bought and intended to renovate and give one to each child when they are older.
Police have marked the outside of each with red paint so they can be easily identified for any future investigation into child cruelty, but local prosecutors are expected to drop the case.
He told MailOnline: ‘I admit I used pepper spray, but it barely touched the people who came here, and I was just defending myself because these people did not identify themselves.
“I saw two men outside looking at my property and they were yelling at me to get out, one said, ‘We have reason to believe you have children here and they’re not safe and they’re not going to school.’
Landon, who lived in London before returning to his native Austria, has written more than 30 books critical of his country’s government.
In an exclusive interview with the Mail, Mr Landon said: ‘Do you know we had policemen here with guns and a battering ram to gain access to my property?’
Landon added: “I’ll admit I used pepper spray, but it barely touched the people who came here and I was just defending myself because these people didn’t identify themselves.”
Landon dismissed local media reports that his family was British, insisting that his wife was German and the children Austrian.
‘I said they were my children, that they were perfectly safe and that we were homeschooling them, and that it was none of their business how we chose to live.
“But they refused to leave and started coming in and that’s when I used the spray, they ran away across the field and then a few minutes later the police were breaking down my door.”
‘The children were terrified and my wife was crying and all for nothing, our quiet and simple life here is now ruined by busy bodies that have no business interfering.
“They used a special team of policemen to search my house because they thought I was booby-trapped and explosives here, they were dressed as Robocop in bulletproof vests and it was all so unnecessary.”
During his interview, Mr. Landon’s wife called twice and he was seen smiling, waving and blowing kisses at children who could be heard laughing in the background.
The 54-year-old man explained that his children were terrified and his wife was crying during the police visit.
Police have marked the exterior of each with red paint so they can be easily identified for any future child cruelty investigations.
Landon claimed that the police used special equipment to search the house because they thought it was booby-trapped and had explosives there.
Boxes of toys were arranged neatly along the walls and downstairs in the basement, dozens of dust-covered wine bottles were stacked in corners, as were plastic crates containing canned food, diapers, and medical supplies.
Inviting MailOnline into the house where the children lived, he pointed to a large bedroom where the children slept and a basement where he told them to hide while the police broke down the door to his house.
Boxes of toys were neatly placed along the walls and downstairs in the basement, dozens of dust-covered wine bottles were stacked in the corners, as were plastic crates containing canned food, diapers, and medical supplies.
When told by MailOnline that this was why police described him as a ‘prepper’, someone who prepares for a ‘big disaster or catastrophic event’, Landon laughed and said: ‘I didn’t even know what that meant. meant when they told me.
“Once it was explained to me I said that I was just a family man and a good father who liked to make sure I had everything my children needed, and as for wine, you can help yourself, I don’t drink.”
Mr Landon invited MailOnline into the house where the children lived and pointed out a large bedroom where the children slept and a basement where he told them to hide while the police broke down the door of his house.
Landon said: “I said they were my children, they were perfectly safe and we were homeschooling them, and it was none of their business how we chose to live.”
Landon dismissed reports that weapons had been found, insisting they were BB guns and a deactivated weapon from World War II.
During his interview, Mr. Landon’s wife called twice and he was seen smiling, waving and blowing kisses at children who could be heard laughing in the background.
Landon also dismissed reports that weapons had been found, insisting they were BB guns and a deactivated weapon from World War II, adding: “Those weapons they found wouldn’t harm anyone.”
He added: “We chose not to register the children, but they are all mine and now we will have to go to Vienna for DNA tests to prove they are ours.” If the authorities were so worried, why have they let the children come back to us?
‘I bought these six properties for the children and I wanted us all to live together when they grow up, but now this plan has been ruined because the deputy mayor didn’t want us here.
“I think I will lose 120,000 euros now because my wife and children do not want to come back here, but I will try to recover some money by suing the authorities for what they have done to us.
I’ve been accused of being the new Josef Fritzl, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I am not an enemy of the state, I am a philanthropist and above all a loving father.’
The Deputy Mayor, Mr Greil, was approached by MailOnline but said he could not comment as he was involved in local elections.
Lower Austrian police and the local prosecutor were not available to comment.