Ex-national player before court - Lighter sentence for Jerome Boateng
First, it was 1.8 million Euro, then 1.2 million - now there is a warning: In the new process against the former German football national player Jérôme Boateng, the Munich I Regional Court has announced a significantly milder verdict. Although it found Boateng guilty of intentional bodily harm, he was only warned. A suspended fine of 200,000 Euro, payable to two charitable institutions that work for Children, was conditionally imposed.
Similar to a suspended prison sentence, Boateng only needs to pay this amount if he violates the conditions. These conditions include paying 50,000 Euro each to two charitable organizations. As the presiding judge Susanne Hemmerich stated, "In my opinion, the real sufferers in this process are the children." "The poor children." The probation period was set at one year. If Boateng fulfills the conditions, the fine will be dropped.
"Relieved that this long nightmare is finally over"
Boateng's spokesperson quoted him as saying, "I'm infinitely relieved that this long ordeal is finally over." "This is especially important for my children." He now wants to focus on his family and football.
"Nothing remains of the accusation of notorious wife beater"
The court concluded that "nothing remains of the accusation of notorious wife beater," as Judge Hemmerich put it. He had behaved inappropriately once during a vacation six years ago. The whole incident was also to be seen in the context of a "toxic relationship" between Boateng and his ex-girlfriend and mother of their, now 13-year-old, twin daughters.
The accusations from the prosecution that Boateng had bitten his former partner in the head during a Caribbean vacation in 2018 and thrown a windlight and a cooler box at her, were not confirmed by the court. "We did not have the brutal wife beater here," Hemmerich said. "We had a person who lost control in a relationship with Boateng's ex-girlfriend." Boateng had admitted to pushing his ex-girlfriend.
Court spokesperson Laurent Lafleur explained after the verdict, "The chamber took into account that there were mutual bodily harm incidents and not only the accused attacked the victim, but that the victim also committed physical attacks against the accused on the same day, as the chamber's findings show."
Satisfied defense and co-plaintiff attorney
Boateng's defense attorney Leonard Walischewski spoke of a "very good, fair verdict." His 35-year-old client was relieved. "He's happy that he can finally return to his normal life." Boateng wanted "to put this whole thing behind him."
The co-plaintiff's attorney, Carolin Lütcke, also expressed satisfaction with the court's decision. "We were looking for a guilty verdict, in that sense, we are satisfied." However, significantly higher penalties had been threatened: The public prosecutor had demanded a fine of 1.12 million Euro.
Lengthy proceedings
The proceedings against the long-time defender of FC Bayern Munich, who had recently switched from the Italian club US Salernitana to the Linzer ASK in Austria, have been ongoing for a long time. The Munich Magistrates' Court had already imposed a fine against Boateng in 2021: 60 Tagessaetze to 30,000 Euro each, totaling 1.8 million Euro.
The Munich I Regional Court sentenced Boateng in the second instance in October 2022 for bodily harm and defamation to a fine of 120 installments of 10,000 Euro each - a total of 1.2 million Euro. However, the Bavarian Highest Regional Court quashed the judgment due to persistent legal errors - therefore, the case was rolled back before the Munich I Regional Court.
"That's it then. Fortunately – after six years", says Judge Hemmerich after the verdict. Whether this is actually the case will only become clear in a week. In fact, the judgment is not yet legally binding. The Prosecution, Counter-plaintiff, and Defense can file a revision again. No one wanted to exclude this at first.
- The new verdict against Jerome Boateng, the former German soccer player, was announced by the Munich I Regional Court.
- Despite finding Boateng guilty of intentional bodily harm, he was only given a warning and a suspended fine of 200,000 Euro for his actions.
- Boateng's fine is conditionally imposed and must be paid to two charitable organizations that work with children.
- The presiding judge, Susanne Hemmerich, stated that the children were the real sufferers in this process.
- The court concluded that the accusation of Jerome Boateng being a notorious wife beater was unsubstantiated.
- The verdict took into account that mutual bodily harm incidents occurred, not just attacks from Boateng towards his ex-girlfriend.
- Boateng's defense attorney, Leonard Walischewski, described the verdict as "very good" and "fair."
- The co-plaintiff's attorney, Carolin Lütcke, was satisfied with the court's decision but had hoped for higher penalties.
