Uncle and Pervert - Steeplechase riders: Ten years imprisonment for a 73-year-old
Due to decades of abuse of his step-daughters, a 73-year-old man has been sentenced to ten years in prison by the Berlin Regional Court. The court considered 74 cases of sexual assault over a period of approximately 20 years as proven. Five girls were affected. They were between three and five years old during the first assaults.
The defendant, who had confessed to the crime, was found guilty of aggravated sexual abuse of children, abuse of wards, and abuse of resistance-incompetents. He had married his current wife in 1999 and then acted within the closest family circle, according to the judgment. He acted deliberately and manipulatively to enable the realization of his pedophilic inclinations.
Approximately in 2000/2001, the first sexual assaults on two sisters occurred. They were three and five years old at the time. The man recorded his deeds and fantasies over the years and convinced himself it wasn't that bad.
Court: No prerequisite for preventive detention
The son of the defendant's wife had initiated the investigation with a criminal complaint. Two of his daughters testified that their grandfather would touch them inappropriately and had said, "that's completely normal," according to the father of three of the affected children as a witness in the trial. "I was appalled." His stepfather had been like a friend - "nice to the children, nice to us, helpful, considerate, nobody would have thought of such a thing." There was a "catastrophe" in the family.
The prosecution had demanded 13 years in prison. In addition, the prosecution attorney had requested preventive detention. The court did not follow this. According to an expert opinion, the defendant would not pose a danger to the public after his release, as stated in the judgment. This is a prerequisite for the ordering of preventive detention. The 73-year-old had acted within a close familial context, and there had been pauses of up to five years between his actions. He had not approached children outside the family.
Child pornography files found on hard drives
During a search of the defendant's former apartment in Berlin-Zehlendorf in April 2023, according to the investigations, over 1,000 child pornographic image files and numerous prohibited videos were found on hard drives. Since February 2024, the trained electrician has been in investigative detention. The indictment initially referred to 110 offenses. The defendant's lawyer argued for a significantly lower sentence than the prosecution's demand, but did not make a specific request. The judgment is not yet legally binding.
- The Public Prosecutor's Office in Berlin was instrumental in bringing charges against the sex offender, based on evidence of criminality including over 100 sexual assaults on children.
- The court process for the 73-year-old man, convicted of aggravated sexual abuse and other crimes, involved testimony from his stepdaughters and granddaughters, who witnessed his misuse of power and inappropriate behavior towards them.
- Despite the severe nature of the crimes and a request from the prosecution for preventive detention, the Berlin Regional Court ruled that the 73-year-old sex offender would not pose a danger to children or the public upon release.
- Evidence of the sex offender's criminality continued to surface after his initial conviction, with child pornography files found on hard drives during a search of his former Berlin apartment in 2023, adding further judgments to his already lengthy criminal record.
