Acquittal for Oranienburger: No evidence in child abuse case!

Acquittal for Oranienburger: No evidence in child abuse case!

Neuruppin/Oranienburg.A shocking verdict shook the Neuruppin regional court on Wednesday: 41-year-old David P. from Oranienburg was acquitted of child sexual abuse! Despite serious allegations linking him to crimes in Wittstock and Oranienburg, the Twelfth Criminal Chamber decided that his behavior was morally reprehensible but not punishable.

The main witnesses for the prosecution, who were heard in closed proceedings, showed little cooperation in court. “You were obviously unwilling to testify,” stated presiding judge Jörn Kattenstroth. Her “blanket failure to remember” was not believed. It was a classic case of testimony against testimony, without objective evidence, which forced the judges to acquit the defendant.

Big discrepancies between statements made to the police and now in court

The discrepancy between the witnesses' earlier statements and what they now said in court was enormous. A police officer recalled the statement of a then 13-year-old who reported that David P. had touched her inappropriately and complimented her in the summer of 2020. But in court, the witnesses qualified their statements so much that criminal activity was no longer recognizable. The court found that although there were inappropriate situations and messages of sexual content, there were no criminal offenses.

The officer who interviewed the witness at the time reported an angry and desperate young woman who wanted the defendant to be punished. But the lack of evidence and insufficient witness statements led to David P. leaving the courtroom a free man. Another case that shockingly shows the boundaries between moral misconduct and criminal behavior.