The Hagen regional court has sentenced a judo trainer from the Märkisches Kreis to more than nine years in prison for serious sexual abuse, bodily harm and making depictions of abuse.
Hagen Regional Court, Hall 201, First Large Juvenile Criminal Chamber. It is the sixth and final day of proceedings in a case against a judo trainer from the Märkisches Kreis. Many parents came. The man inflicted some serious sexual violence on her children, a total of 23 boys, over a period of two decades.
“They destroyed souls,” states prosecutor Dorothée Jacobi in her plea as she describes the consequences of the acts. She was originally charged with more than 1,200 crimes. Numerous cases were discontinued due to, among other things, the statute of limitations or because the 34-year-old accused was still a teenager at the beginning.
685 crimes remained. As far as we know, there have never been such a number of cases for which a sports coach has to answer before a German court. Perpetrated on 23 boys, the youngest between six and eight years old, as Martin Düerkop explains. The lawyer represents eight of the 23 affected people and their families as co-plaintiffs.
Deliberately sneaked into families
“The scope of the evil that took place was enormous,” says presiding judge Jörg Weber-Schmitz. Prosecutor Jacobi had previously clearly demonstrated the seriousness of the crimes in her plea.
He was “a master of disguise and manipulation.” He took part in judo to get to know children. Attacks occurred, among other things, during ground fighting, in the locker room, and during “naked weigh-ins.” During the training sessions, he deliberately praised certain children and then invited them to the gifted training. The children were proud, and so were the parents.
The accused deliberately crept into families and “ticked in”. Over time, the families considered him a friend and even asked him for advice on parenting matters.
Study: Two thirds have experienced violence in the club
A perpetrator strategy that has already been demonstrated in many other cases of sexual violence in sports. Many sports-related court cases have already made this clear. Those affected repeatedly describe the dependency relationship into which the perpetrator manipulated them.
It’s not always just about sexual violence. Mental and physical violence are also an issue, not only in competitive sports, but also in popular sports. This was shown by a representative study among club members. Two thirds of them have experienced some form of this violence in their club.
Victims describe perpetrators as big brothers
The trust gained by the perpetrator makes it even more difficult for the children to tell their parents what happened. That’s how it was in this case too. In their statements to the police, they described the judo teacher as a “big brother”.
“He made it clear to the children that if they said something he would be put in prison for a long time,” said lawyer Düerkop, describing the defendant’s actions and calling it “perfidious.” Even when one of the boys confided in his mother, he cried because he still liked the perpetrator. Despite everything that happened, prosecutor Jacobi added.
She evaluates the defendant’s confession in his favor. In this way, the man spared all of the children from having to testify in court again. During the course of the proceedings, other victims found the courage to contact the authorities and file a complaint. Jacobi is demanding twelve years in prison, co-plaintiff Düerkop agrees with this demand.
The accused’s two lawyers confirm that their client committed serious sexual abuse, but reject many of the allegations mentioned in the plea and are calling for a prison sentence of seven years.
“The defendant is to blame”
In the end, the presiding judge Jörg Weber-Schmitz sentenced the judo trainer to nine years and eight months in prison. It is one of the highest verdicts known to date in sport. “The defendant alone is to blame here,” Weber-Schmitz once again addressed the affected children and their parents.
The parents received the verdict with a certain satisfaction, said co-plaintiff Düerkop, but “it does not reflect the suffering of the large number of children affected.” The verdict is not yet legally binding.
2023-11-07 11:15:38
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