A star of the award-winning film "Corsage" about the free-spirited Austrian empress Sisi pleaded guilty Tuesday to child pornography charges in a Vienna court.

Florian Teichtmeister -- who played Emperor Franz-Joseph in the movie -- was accused of procuring and possessing around 76,000 media files of minors.

More than half of them related to depictions of minors aged between seven and 14 years, with the remaining showing young people between 14 and 18.

The 43-year-old Austrian actor could face up to three years in prison.

The regional court was placed under tight security to avoid incidents with demonstrators, Austrian media reported.

Prosecutors had been investigating Teichtmeister since 2021.

"Corsage" was a box office hit, with actress Vicky Krieps, who played the tragic empress, taking the best performance prize at the Cannes film festival. It was under consideration for an Academy Award nomination when reports surfaced in mid-January that Teichtmeister had been charged with possessing child pornography.  

- Increased penalties -

In the wake of the charges, Austria's national theatre, the Burgtheater, announced it had fired the actor.

Austrian public broadcaster ORF -- which co-produced "Corsage" -- said it would neither produce nor broadcast films by Teichtmeister pending the outcome of the case. 

The charges also reverberated across Austrian politics, with State Secretary for Arts and Culture Andrea Mayer ordering an inquiry amid allegations that people in the industry had been aware of Teichtmeister's criminal past but kept silent. 

The case prompted Austria's government to toughen penalties for child pornography, after leading politicians condemned "ridiculously low" punishments.

Penalties for the possession of pornographic depictions of minors are likely to be increased from up to two years in prison to three.  

Teichtmeister's defence hopes to secure a lower sentence with a guilty plea given that the actor has no criminal record, has cooperated with authorities, and has been in psychological treatment for years.

Under the proposed new laws, the production of a large number of sexually explicit depictions of minors -- especially for distribution -- could result in prison sentences of up to 10 years. 

Teichtmeister will not be affected by the changes expected to be adopted later this year.

Empress Elisabeth, known popularly as Sisi, was one of the most famous and beautiful women of the 19th century, but her private life was dogged by drama and tragedy.  

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