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"Abuse breaks children's souls" - more severe punishments planned

2020-06-11T18:55:37.681Z


After the abuse case in Münster, criminal law is now becoming more stringent. Federal Justice Minister Lambrecht has now also spoken in favor of this after initial skepticism.


After the abuse case in Münster, criminal law is now becoming more stringent. Federal Justice Minister Lambrecht has now also spoken in favor of this after initial skepticism.

Berlin (dpa) - After days of pressure and sharp criticism from the Union, Federal Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) has also spoken out on Thursday to tighten criminal law on child abuse and child pornography.

At the same time, the minister is also aiming to hold talks with politicians, abuse officers, the police, the judiciary and youth welfare offices in order to make progress in prevention, investigation and law enforcement.

"Sexual abuse breaks children's souls," said Lambrecht in Berlin on Thursday. "Without ifs and buts it must be clear that this is a disgusting crime and that must also be expressed in terms of punishment." She again pointed out that acts such as those in Münster could already be punished with the highest prison sentences of up to 15 years. The SPD politician now also wants harsher punishments for abuse cases that were not associated with physical violence and abuse, as she told the editorial network Germany (RND). "These are, for example, touching children in a sexual way. The law must clearly state that these are crimes without any ifs and buts."

According to the Criminal Code, a crime is an act that is punished with at least one year imprisonment, and an offense is an act for which a lower prison sentence or a fine can be imposed. So whether an act is a crime or an offense is derived from the penalties provided for in the criminal code. The CDU and CSU had been under pressure in the past few days, calling for a change in criminal law to ensure that child abuse falls under the crime category and that fines related to child pornography are also increased.

Lambrecht initially rejected the demands and said it was more important to give investigators more options. She had received a lot of criticism for that. Representatives of the CDU and CSU accused her of "refusing to work" and "blocking".

The Minister of Justice is now of the opinion that there should be increased penalties not only for child abuse itself, but also for the distribution and production of corresponding videos and pictures. "I want perpetrators who earnestly disgracefully making money from child pornography or who operate criminal exchange rings to be punished more severely. It is a heinous crime to make money from child abuse - and it must be punishable by up to ten years in prison . "

So far, production and distribution have been documented for a maximum of five years, unless the perpetrators act "commercially or as a member of a gang". Then there is already a threat of up to ten years.

The German Judges Association criticized on Thursday the discussion focused on higher sentences. This falls short, Federal Managing Director Sven Rebehn told the RND. "Potential perpetrators are primarily deterred by the risk of being convicted and punished." The President of the German Child Protection Association, Heinz Hilgers, warned against too high expectations. He can understand the demands for tightening criminal law and has nothing against the tightening in principle, he told the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" (Friday). One should "but have no false hopes: tougher punishments have no preventive effect".

The president of the German Children's Fund, Thomas Krüger, called for more search pressure: "Now the law enforcement authorities must be staffed and technically equipped so that potential perpetrators must be aware that they can be discovered and tracked almost every minute."

Deutsche Kinderhilfe welcomed Justice Minister Lambrecht's announcement on Thursday. The chairman of the board, Rainer Becker, told the "Bild" newspaper: "Ms. Lambrecht was wrong. The minister has apparently recognized her mistake at least on this point. Now, however, the first concrete legislative steps must follow before the parliamentary summer break."

There have been stricter measures in the area of ​​child abuse recently: For example, criminal law in cybergrooming has been tightened. It is about targeting children online in order to initiate sexual contacts. In addition, covert investigators have been given more opportunities to sneak into hidden Internet forums where abuse videos and images are exchanged.

The current debate flared up after another case of serious sexual abuse of several children in Münster was reported last weekend. The 27-year-old prime suspect had two previous convictions for possession of child pornography. So far, eleven suspects from several federal states have been arrested in the Münster case. Seven of them are in custody.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-06-11

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