Nude photos: Bundestag decriminalizes schoolyard and warning cases
MPs have approved a reform of the sex offense law, which was massively tightened in 2021. This means that some proceedings can soon be dropped again.
(Image: Daniel AJ Sokolov)
With the votes of the coalition parliamentary groups and the Die Linke group, the Bundestag passed a bill on Thursday evening that largely defuses the provisions on the "distribution, acquisition and possession of child pornography content", which were massively expanded by the grand coalition in 2021. This concerns Section 184b of the German Criminal Code (StGB).
The aim of the amendment three years ago was to impose stricter penalties for the indirect promotion of the sexual abuse of children through the distribution of such images. To this end, the legislator upgraded almost all variants contained in the provision to a crime with a minimum prison sentence of one year. Since then, public prosecutors have had to bring even the smallest case to court. This is now to end.
The draft bill to amend the minimum penalties in Section 184b retains the increase in the penalty range to ten years' imprisonment for serious cases of the acquisition, distribution or possession of images of child sexual abuse. At the same time, however, Parliament is once again giving law enforcement authorities the opportunity to react appropriately to relevant proceedings in each individual case. If the charge is at the lower end of the range of criminal liability, courts can once again impose a sentence of less than one year in prison. The sentence for the purchase or distribution of relevant images or videos will be reduced to six months, and possession to three months. It will also be possible to discontinue or otherwise settle proceedings in accordance with sections 153 and 153a of the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO).
No mercy for criminal trading platforms
On the recommendation of the Legal Affairs Committee, the Bundestag also passed a consequential amendment to Section 127 of the German Criminal Code on the "Operation of criminal trading platforms on the internet". It is intended to ensure that offenses that have been downgraded to a misdemeanor are still covered by the standard. The AfD abstained from the vote, while the CDU/CSU parliamentary group was against the amendment. They pushed for a "privileged status at the level of the offense" to be created only for "parental or warning cases", acts committed by young people and low-threshold cases such as the possession of a posing image, thus ending criminal prosecution for these. However, Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Justice, Marion Gentges (CDU), had also previously pointed out that over 40 percent of the wave of investigations initially triggered were "schoolyard cases".
Previously, parents who were unintentionally sent child pornographic material in a large WhatsApp parents' group faced a minimum prison sentence of one year, said Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP), explaining the new reform. The same applies to teachers who discover such material on pupils' cell phones and forward it to alert parents. One such case caused a stir last year, and the trial against a teacher is ongoing. Buschmann emphasized that the initiative was also in response to the urgent request of prosecutors, public prosecutors and courts as well as the state ministers of justice.
(fds)