Stuttgart district court: protégés abused hundreds of times – handball coach convicted

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Accused in court (04/27/2022): Jailed for abuse

Photo: Bernd Weissbrod / dpa

A former handball coach has severely sexually abused several children and has been in prison for years.

The Stuttgart Regional Court sentenced the 53-year-old man to five years and four months in prison.

According to the court, the accused abused the children and young people at least 500 times between 2006 and 2019.

The man from Fellbach in the Rems-Murr district trained his protégés, took care of them and thus built trust.

Then, among other things, he forced them to masturbate each other, the presiding judge said.

The accused had already admitted the allegations made against him at the start of the trial in April.

"I take full responsibility for my actions," he said in a statement read by his defense attorney.

He apologizes to his former protégés, their relatives and the affected club in Fellbach.

The verdict is not yet legally binding.

The revelations had caused horror in the club and in the town of Fellbach.

"The alleged perpetrator has brought suffering to many children, young people and families, which is difficult to bear," said the association in mid-December.

Everyone was shocked by the scale of the crimes.

Those affected had the courage to uncover the crimes in the association, the circular continues.

The club separated from the man in January 2019 “due to sporting differences”.

However, everyone should also ask themselves whether they shouldn't have been more attentive in the past.

"If we had had the knowledge of today, that would certainly have been the case," writes the association and promises "a culture of looking."

In January, the association invited youth coaches from the entire handball district to a prevention training course.

ptz/dpa