crime
Sexual offenses on social media – verdict confirmed
The Hamburg Regional Court’s verdict against a 30-year-old for numerous sexual offenses is legally binding. photo
© Christian Charisius/dpa
A man uses social media to gain the trust of girls. He pretends to be a woman and encourages her to perform sexual acts. Now it is clear: he will spend years in prison for this.
The verdict of the Hamburg Regional Court against a 30-year-old for numerous Sexual offenses using social media are legally binding. The Federal Court of Justice rejected the defendant’s appeal as unfounded, according to the decision published on Tuesday. The regional court sentenced the man to seven years in prison on September 14th last year.
The criminal chamber found him guilty of rape in eight cases, four of which involved sexual abuse of children. The total of around 90 crimes included further sexual assaults and the possession of child pornography. The defendant made a comprehensive confession during the trial, as the presiding judge said when announcing the verdict.
The 30-year-old had created fake profiles on social media and posed as a woman with good contacts. He gained the trust of girls and young people and promised them that he would turn them into influencers. To achieve this, they should perform sexual acts on themselves and take pictures and video recordings. However, he did not visit the children and young people, but “remotely controlled” them via messenger services, the judge said.
The court found that the defendant did not have a pedophilic disorder on the basis of an expert report. He suffered from depression and tried to increase his lack of self-esteem by gaining a position of power over the girls. The court assessed the long period of offense of two years as making the punishment more severe. Even a search of his apartment didn’t stop him from further crimes.
BGH decision