Overview
- The Landgericht Hof issued a non-final verdict, leaving room for appeal as the defendant remains in custody.
- Judges convicted the 30-year-old of dangerous bodily harm, weapons offenses, possession of child sexual material, and violations of privacy for secretly uploading sex videos recorded in Kyiv.
- The court said evidence did not sufficiently prove lack of consent in five alleged rapes, leading to acquittals on those counts.
- Proceedings ran before a youth chamber with sessions partly closed because some alleged acts occurred when the defendant was legally a young adult.
- Investigators launched the case after a tip from U.S. authorities, and the defendant was arrested in Ukraine’s Sumy region in February before transfer to Germany; he admitted one rape as well as possessing illicit material and ammunition.