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Defendant in Barmbek District Court (archive): Relevant criminal record
Photo: Christian Charisius / dpa
A court in Hamburg has sentenced an alleged clairvoyant to three years in prison.
The 29-year-old from Kerpen near Cologne brought a woman from Hamburg for 250,000 euros.
She stole the trust of the 54-year-olds and took advantage of the woman's plight with supposed healing rituals, the judge said in her judgment.
The portrayal of the injured woman is credible.
Accordingly, the defendant had told her in August 2018 that she could help her seriously ill sister-in-law through a ritual.
The 54-year-old had to hide 300,000 euros wrapped in plastic under her mattress and pray intensely.
Then the evil demons would be driven away.
Cash exchanged for play money
Since the 54-year-old was only able to raise 250,000 euros in cash, the supposed clairvoyant wanted to add 50,000 euros of her own money.
The healing success depends on the 54-year-old not looking under the mattress afterwards.
Three months later she did and found that there was only play money left.
The prosecutor had requested two years and six months imprisonment, the defense attorney demanded acquittal.
The judge justified the harsher sentence with five relevant previous convictions of the defendants.
In addition, the 29-year-old has to repay the 250,000 euros and bear the costs of the procedure.
The verdict is not yet legally binding.
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bbr / dpa