Charge of child abuse: BGH upholds partial acquittal for photographers in Cologne
The public prosecutor accused the man of additional offenses, but the Higher Regional Court acquitted him. The court could not establish that he had committed the acts as specifically described in the indictment. However, the public prosecutor and one of the co-plaintiffs appealed to the Federal Court of Justice.
This court found legal errors in the evaluation of evidence by the Cologne court. It had set too high standards for proving specific acts. The Federal Court of Justice overturned the judgment to the extent that the defendant was acquitted in five cases.
Another chamber of the Landgericht must deal with the case again. The defendant had worked as a photographer for national and international magazines, and in particular had taken pictures of children.
- The man, originally accused of child abuse and molestation, had his acquittal upheld by the Cologne Regional Court, but the Public Prosecutor's Office and a co-plaintiff appealed to the Federal Court of Justice due to misuse of evidence standards.
- During the appeal process at the Federal Court of Justice, it was determined that the Cologne Regional Court had misused the standards for proving specific acts, leading to an acquittal in five cases.
- Subsequently, another chamber of the Landgericht (Cologne Regional Court) will handle the case once more, as the defendant, a professional photographer, had frequently photographed children for national and international magazines.
- Despite the acquittal in five cases, the allegations of misconduct and inappropriate behavior towards children remain a matter of public interest and controversy, given the defendant's profession as a child photographer.
- The Federal Court of Justice ruled that the evidence in the case was misused, causing the Cologne Regional Court to misapply the necessary standards for proving child abuse and molestation, hence leading to an acquittal in five instances.
