Court: Long prison sentence for serial arsonist
Following a series of serious arsons in Warstein in the Sauerland region, a 43-year-old man has been sentenced to 9 years and ten months in prison. The Arnsberg district court charged him with a total of seven cases in which he set fire to houses or vehicles, as a spokesperson announced on Tuesday. One crime from April 25, 2023, as a result of which he was arrested, was particularly serious.
At that time, he had set fire to an apartment building and put the residents in great danger. The first floor went up in flames. The fire department had to rescue seven people, including three children, from the smoke-filled upper floors. According to the police's findings at the time, they were slightly injured.
The court also found on Tuesday that the defendant was responsible for five other fires in Warstein and for a burnt-out car in Meschede between August and November 2022. The other fires caused damage to property, for example because he had selected empty buildings or a tractor.
The 43-year-old remained silent during the trial. According to the judges, the man is fully culpable, but suffers from an alcohol addiction. He should therefore undergo withdrawal therapy during the course of his prison sentence, according to the judges.
The arsonist's conviction for setting houses and vehicles on fire in Warstein and Meschede has raised questions about the effectiveness of existing processes to prevent and punish such crimes. Despite his alcohol addiction, the court deemed it necessary to implement fire safety measures in the prison to prevent similar incidents with potential fires.
Source: www.dpa.com
