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Hamburg Pastor Convicted of Sexual Abuse of Teen and Given Suspended Sentence

The ruling rests on digital records and a limited confession while questions about the victim's changing testimony leave the sentence open to appeal.

Der angeklagte Pastor verbarg zu Beginn des Prozesses sein Gesicht hinter einer Aktenmappe
Image
Unter anderem wegen des sexuellen Missbrauchs von Jugendlichen ist ein ehemaliger Pastor in Hamburg zu einer Bewährungsstrafe verurteilt worden. Das Landgericht sah es als erwiesen an, dass der 63-Jährige sexuelle Handlungen an einem 15-Jährigen vornahm .

Overview

  • The Hamburg Regional Court convicted a 64-year-old pastor on Friday of sexually abusing a 15-year-old and of possessing a juvenile pornographic image, and it sentenced him to one year and nine months in prison suspended.
  • The court found the core incident took place in April 2022 at the pastor's parsonage, concluding the pastor touched and kissed the boy and paid the boy or his father after the encounter.
  • Judges relied heavily on chat logs, videos and an image found on a tablet along with a partial confession from the pastor while treating the victim's testimony as unreliable after multiple inconsistent interviews.
  • The Evangelical-Lutheran church district and the Nordkirche immediately suspended the pastor from his office and opened disciplinary proceedings, and they publicly affirmed support for the alleged victim.
  • The verdict is not yet final, two other abuse charges were dismissed by the court, and the boy's father — previously convicted in a related case — faces possible review by the Federal Court of Justice which could affect related outcomes.