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The case caused a national stir.
© Andreas Arnold/dpa
It's a nightmare for the family and the police: a child is kidnapped and abused on the way to school.
The Edenkoben case caused a national stir.
Now the process began - with an explanation.
Landau - Around six months after the kidnapping and sexual abuse of a ten-year-old girl in Edenkoben (Palatinate), the defendant admitted the crime at the start of the trial.
The 62-year-old has fully confessed to these allegations and regrets the crime, said his defense attorney in a short statement in the Landau regional court on Friday.
“Nothing is disputed.” When the judge asked the defendant whether this was his explanation, the man confirmed: “Yes.
Yes.” The crime on September 11, 2023 caused a national stir.
The defendant, who had been convicted of sexual offenses several times, was led into meeting room 309 in handcuffs.
Wrapped in a gray parka and a reddish sweater, the stocky man covered his face from photographers with a paper folder.
Resting his head mostly on his right arm, the 62-year-old with a bald head and a thin mustache later followed the court's statements largely unmoved.
The defendant is accused of dragging the child into his car on the way to school and abusing her in an empty building.
After a chase, the man was arrested and the child was rescued.
The public prosecutor's office is seeking preventive detention for the man from Neustadt/Weinstraße following a prison sentence.
The girl fought back and called for help, it said when the charges were read out.
The “physically significantly superior” man dragged the child “with great force into the car” and injured the child.
The crime occurred in a former paper factory.
Some spectators were in tears.
When the charges were read out, the audience and the press had to temporarily leave the room.
It was about “interests worthy of protection,” it was said.
According to the prosecution, the accused rammed another vehicle with his getaway car, raced towards a patrol car and sometimes drove at more than 100 kilometers per hour.
The man did not comment on this.
He described a life marked by prison sentences.
He grew up as one of 13 children and “at some point became a criminal”.
Today he is seriously ill and is facing chemotherapy.
There is great interest in the process.
There are increased security precautions in the Palace of Justice.
Twelve days of negotiations are scheduled.
The verdict could come in April.
The crime also sparked a discussion about the forced application of an electronic ankle bracelet.
The man was released from custody in mid-July 2023 and was closely monitored by the police.
Among other things, he was banned from contacting children and young people and from being near playgrounds, schools, swimming pools and kindergartens.
Furthermore, he was not allowed to have an internet-enabled cell phone or a laptop in order not to take any photos or videos.
According to investigators, the man violated this instruction.
He also did not accept therapy offers.
According to the information, the accused had previously also refused to wear an electronic ankle bracelet.
The authorities pointed out at the time that an ankle bracelet could not be put on under duress.
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A few days before the crime, the public prosecutor's office applied for an arrest warrant because the man had violated these conditions.
Rhineland-Palatinate Justice Minister Herbert Mertin (FDP) said the files with the arrest warrant only arrived at the district court after the crime because an employee was ill.
After the case, State Interior Minister Michael Ebling announced that Rhineland-Palatinate wanted to tighten the legal framework for wearing an electronic ankle bracelet in the amendment to the Police and Public Order Act - including for sexual offenders.
The SPD politician expects that the amendment can be passed in 2024.
dpa