The public prosecutor’s office in Freiburg has accused a man of possessing child pornography. The investigators got on the trail because he was in chat contact with the accused of the Wermelskirchen abuse complex.
A 49-year-old man from the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district has to answer in court for possession of child pornography. The public prosecutor’s office in Freiburg announced this on SWR’s request. “The accused is accused of having a low double-digit number of child pornographic image files on his mobile phone,” explains First Prosecutor Martina Wilke.
Trial scheduled for November
The public prosecutor’s office has therefore filed charges. As early as mid-June, SWR research made it public knowledge that the man was being investigated. The trial is scheduled to take place on November 16 at the Freiburg district court. Then it should also be clarified what specific connections the man had to the Wermelskirchen abuse complex in North Rhine-Westphalia.
There, a 44-year-old man is accused of abusing twelve babies and children for years. Large amounts of child pornography and images of abuse were also found on his computer and several hard drives. The suspect confessed to the crime and, according to his lawyer, helped identify other perpetrators.
Four procedures submitted according to BW
Four suspected cases were subsequently handed over to Baden-Württemberg by the responsible Cologne public prosecutor’s office. While the investigations by the public prosecutor’s offices in Ellwangen (Ostalbkreis) and Karlsruhe/Pforzheim against the respective suspects were dropped for various reasons, investigations continued in Freiburg and Rottweil.
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The extent of child abuse in Wermelskirchen (NRW) shocks many people. SWR research shows that the perpetrator had connections to BW. Here, too, it is determined.
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Child abuse investigation closed
The 49-year-old from the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district was also suspected of sexual child abuse. According to Wilke, this procedure has now been discontinued “due to a lack of sufficient suspicion”. “In the course of extensive investigations, including the evaluation of data carriers and the questioning of witnesses, there were no concrete indications that the accused had actually committed acts of sexual abuse to the detriment of children,” says Wilke.
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SWR research shows that the number of child abuse in BW has increased significantly. This is also due to Corona. Counseling centers speak of a “huge number of unreported cases”.
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The accused already has a criminal record
It is now clear, however, that the 49-year-old and the suspect from Wermelskirchen were in direct chat contact. The investigators were also able to track down the man. However, it is still unclear where the image files on the 49-year-old’s cell phone came from. As Wilke reports, the man has a criminal record. She cannot name the crime at the moment because it will be the subject of the main hearing.
Penalties range from one to five years
Should the lay judge at the district court in Freiburg find the accused guilty, he could theoretically face a prison sentence of between one and five years, according to Section 184b of the Criminal Code. In principle, a prison sentence of up to two years can be suspended, according to Wilke.
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The number of registered crimes related to child pornography has increased significantly in Baden-Württemberg over the past year. The suspects are often minors themselves.
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The public prosecutor is investigating a man from the Freudenstadt district
To what extent this could also be relevant for a man from the Freudenstadt district is currently not foreseeable. He is also being investigated on suspicion of possession of “criminal-relevant pornographic content”. Much more is not known so far. The responsible public prosecutor’s office in Rottweil is still extremely covered with the reference to the ongoing investigations.
The investigation will probably not be completed until next year
It is clear, however, that the investigation is not yet complete – and will take plenty of time. “Since there is still data to be evaluated, a conclusion this year is probably not possible according to the current status,” explains the responsible public prosecutor Sama Martina on request. It is still unclear whether the man already has a criminal record or whether incriminating material was found on him. So far, nothing is known about the suspect’s connections to the accused from Wermelskirchen.
This SWR report from April of this year shows how children can be given knowledge and self-confidence in order to protect themselves from attacks by adults:
Download video (6.3 MB | MP4)
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