As has now become known, the district court of Nuremberg-Fürth sentenced the man to a total of two years and eight months in prison for serious forced prostitution, sexual abuse and other crimes. In addition, it ordered placement in a rehabilitation center, reported the Kathpress. The man had no criminal record.
The verdict has been final since August 25th. The crimes happened in an apartment in Fürth. According to church information, it is a clergyman from the diocese of Regensburg, while Fürth belongs to the archdiocese of Bamberg. In a first reaction on Monday, the Fürth dean Andre Hermany spoke of a “disgusting case”. All those responsible in his district were appalled. At the same time he criticized the church’s internal information policy. The spokesman for the archdiocese of Bamberg, Harry Luck, said the priest had no pastoral work and lived in Fürth as a retired minister.
At least 14 cases
According to the verdict, the crimes were committed in 2019 and 2020. The priest had been on relevant homosexual dating forums and had pretended to be a young man there. In at least 14 cases, the priest let the young people work as prostitutes, found them suitors and rented out his bedroom. Without the knowledge of the young people, he made pictures and videos of the sexual acts.
The District Court of Fürth had already convicted the perpetrator on June 16, 2021 in the first instance. Only with regard to the legal consequences did the Nuremberg-Fürth district court uphold the defendant’s appeal and reduced the total sentence by four months in prison.
Arrested at the end of August
The priest was arrested at the end of August 2020. During a search of his apartment in Fürth, police officers caught him trying to dispose of storage media containing child and youth pornography in the toilet. As a result, he had to spend four months in custody.
The clergyman confessed and, according to the judiciary, made reparations to several victims. A psychiatric expert certified him as alcohol dependent. Without therapy, he continues to be at risk.
Source: Nachrichten
