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Local and Regional Court in Regensburg: "A suspended sentence is not nothing"
Photo: Armin Weigel / picture alliance/dpa
In Regensburg, a 23-year-old has been sentenced to a suspended sentence for a total of six sexual offenses. The case caused a stir on social media after the "Bild" newspaper reported on the verdict under the title "Refugee rapes 16-year-old and is released". In fact, the defendant was sentenced to a suspended sentence for rape, sexual assault in three cases and sexual harassment in two cases by the juvenile jury court in Regensburg. This is confirmed by the Regensburg District Court to SPIEGEL.
The man did not walk out of the courtroom "as a free man" as claimed, but was sentenced to a juvenile sentence of one year and ten months, suspended on probation. In addition, the perpetrator must meet several conditions, explains the press spokesman of the court: He must be abstinent for one year, so he may not have more than 0.5 per thousand in his blood, participate in various trainings and pay the victim 2500 euros in compensation.
"Under Special Observation of the Court"
The probation period is three years, until then the perpetrator is "under special observation of the court," explains the press spokesman. In the event of violations, the probation period could be extended and, in the worst case, revoked. Then the perpetrator would have to be taken into custody.
"A suspended sentence is not nothing," says Theresia Höynck, professor of child and youth law at the University of Kassel. During the probationary period, not much has to happen for the juvenile sentence to be due.
The fact that in the case of rape, the minimum two-year prison sentence specified in the Criminal Code is not to be served, but the sentence is suspended on probation, also occurs in adult criminal law, explains Höynck. The individual severity of the crime will be assessed.
In the present case, the rape offence is fulfilled by the fact that the perpetrator penetrated the vagina of the victim with at least one finger before she succeeded in pushing him away, according to the indictment, which is available to SPIEGEL. The "Bild" newspaper writes that Mohammad M. had rejected the victim several times – the 23-year-old had not stopped and "raped the girl".
»Creates an image that is not given in this way«
"Although this is legally correct," says his defense attorney Christian Reiser, "it creates a certain image that is not given in this way." He does not want to belittle the suffering of the injured parties, emphasizes the defense lawyer. However, it is important to "take into account the specific circumstances of the individual case apart from striking headlines."
The age of the defendant was also taken into account in the sentence. The 23-year-old, explains the spokesman of the court, was still under 21 at the time of the rape and thus the most serious of the six acts, which is why juvenile criminal law was applied.
"The penalties of general criminal law do not apply in juvenile criminal law," explains criminal lawyer Höynck. The punishment is assessed solely from an educational point of view. "The focus is not on the settlement of guilt, but on the prevention of further crimes."
Six months in custody
According to the court, the defendant's confession played a major role in the decision that the sentence was suspended, which spared the victims from having to testify. In addition, the perpetrator had already spent six months in custody.
In addition, the court acknowledged that the 23-year-old has completed training and has a permanent job. According to his lawyer, he came to Germany from Afghanistan at the age of 15 and graduated from secondary school with a grade of 1.0.