Suche
Booted: Jérôme Boateng exonerated as innocent after five-week trial!
Jérôme Boateng, a former international player, has been exonerated after five years of investigations. The proceedings were discontinued.
Booted: Jérôme Boateng exonerated as innocent after five-week trial!
The Munich public prosecutor's office has dropped the case against the former German national player and current LASK defender, Jérôme Boateng. This came after five years of intensive investigations, which were decided according to the principle “in dubio pro reo”, meaning that the defendant was given the benefit of the doubt. Boateng expressed relief at the decision and described the suspicions raised against him as false. The proceedings were initially initiated in 2019 and temporarily stopped, but were resumed after Kasia Lenhardt's death in 2021 due to new information.
Nevertheless, the public prosecutor ultimately lacked the evidence to bring charges. The injuries documented in the autopsy report were not enough to prove a crime. Boateng's lawyer emphasized that the investigation ultimately confirmed his innocence. Contrary to this view, the Lenhardt family's lawyer, Markus Hennig, pointed out Boateng's previous conviction for assaulting an ex-partner and thus expressed criticism of the outcome of the proceedings OE24 reported.
Domestic violence in Germany
The data shows that domestic violence accounts for almost a quarter of all cases of violence in police crime statistics. What is particularly worrying is that 70.5% of victims are women and 75.6% of perpetrators are men. In 2023, 331 people lost their lives due to domestic violence; over 80% of these victims were female. Children under the age of 14 and older people over 60, who make up the majority of victims of domestic violence, are also particularly at risk.
Measures to combat violence
In view of these worrying statistics, the federal government has announced various measures. This includes the creation of new contact points at the federal police, where specially trained officers will record reports from women affected by violence around the clock. Mandatory anti-violence training for perpetrators and ongoing investigations into the dark area of domestic violence are also planned. A central goal is to ensure access to protection and advice for those affected through new laws.
In addition to the government measures, there are numerous offers of help available, including the emergency number 110 for immediate dangers as well as various advice centers and women's shelters. Helplines such as “Violence against Women” (116 016) and the men’s telephone (0800 1239900) offer low-threshold support. The “Non-Violence into the Future” app helps those affected find individual support and offers documentation options.
The case of Jérôme Boateng and the alarming statistics on domestic violence highlight the societal challenges that must be addressed. Prevention, legal measures and support for those affected are essential in order to permanently address the problems the federal government determines.