The Deggendorf regional court has sentenced a priest to one and a half years in prison on probation for five cases of sexual assault. The interrogation of the defendant as well as the pleas took place behind closed doors, as the court announced. The proceedings took place because of the underage victim before the youth chamber of the regional court, which functioned as a youth protection court.
The 66-year-old defendant entered the courtroom at the start of the trial dressed in dark clothing and completely masked. With his hands folded as if in prayer, he stood next to his lawyer for several minutes before the trial began – in front of the cross that regularly hangs in Bavarian courtrooms. He wore a kind of balaclava that covered his face and large sunglasses.
The priest is said to have performed sexual acts on a 15-year-old altar boy during two multi-day bike rides in the summer of 2022. The public prosecutor had accused him of sexual abuse of those under his protection in several cases.
However, the chamber did not consider this criminal offense to be fulfilled. A court spokeswoman explained after the verdict was announced that the defendant did not undertake the bike tours in his capacity as a priest, but rather privately with the injured party.
The priest came from the Cologne area. However, because one of the bike tours took place in the Regen district and one of the suspected crime scenes was located there, the trial took place in the Deggendorf court district responsible for Regen. According to reports, the court took into account the fact that the priest had confessed when handing down the verdict. The judgment is not final.