The private possession of images and videos of child sexual abuse - even in small quantities - are incompatible with the teaching profession. This was decided by the Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG) in Leipzig (AZ: BVerwG 2 C 3.18 and BVerwG 2 C 4.18). For two Berlin educators, the verdict leads to the loss of a job.
The men had in their spare time child pornography videos and images worried and looked at and were sentenced for it. The Land Berlin therefore doubted the pedagogical suitability of the teachers and wanted to remove them from the civil service. That was lawful, judged the senate of the revision court. He deviated from the case law of the lower courts.
"Outside of the service, even today no more exemplary social behavior is expected of civil servants," said the presiding judge. However, there is a so-called employment reference: "The teacher is responsible for the special protection of children and adolescents." The specific sentence of criminal proceedings is not decisive for the outcome of the disciplinary proceedings.
Found videos "of considerable length"
In criminal proceedings, the Berlin teachers were sentenced to fines of 50 and 90 daily rates. One of the men reportedly had 21 child pornography and six juvenile pornographic image files. On the computer of the other three videos "of considerable length" and more than 500 images were found.
However, when the state of Berlin wanted to draw disciplinary consequences, it initially failed. The Higher Administrative Court Berlin-Brandenburg said at the time: The removal from the civil service relationship was not justified, since the offenses were "at the bottom of the possible forms of offense of the crime". The Federal Administrative Court saw it differently. The two teachers are removed from civil service, judged it.
Marina Hennersdorf, representing the state of Berlin, was pleased with the decision: "I believe that corresponds to the jurisprudence of our time," she said. "I'm sure there's sexual violence behind every child pornography production."
Kathrin Wiencek, chairwoman of the Philologists Association Berlin-Brandenburg, praised the verdict. "In my opinion, such a person has lost nothing in the school service for the protection of the children and for his own protection."
