EA 62-year-old man has been sentenced to a suspended sentence of two years in prison by the Darmstadt Regional Court because he repeatedly gave an underage girl the drug crack, made from cocaine. The chamber viewed the actions of the German Gerd S., just like the public prosecutor’s office in its plea, as a less serious case due to special circumstances. That is why the reduced sentence applies, said presiding judge Ingrid Schroff in her justification for the verdict, which was handed down on Friday after just one day of trial. The decision is final because the prosecution and defense have decided not to appeal.
As a rule, the distribution of drugs to minors is severely punished; the law provides for a penalty of at least one year in prison for each individual case. A prison sentence of up to 15 years is possible if people under the age of 18 are induced to consume and become dependent. However, the defendant’s actions cannot be compared with this; it is one of the few cases that can be judged to be less difficult. The then 15-year-old girl did not come across drugs through him, as she had already consumed them before she knew him. The teenager’s mother, who was also an addict, persuaded her to try crack while she was drunk.
Love letters are read out in the courtroom
The now nineteen-year-old said she had turned to the man to get drugs. The contact then turned into a love affair, at least from the man’s point of view. Turning to him, the judge said: “We believe that they were in love.” This is evident from letters read out in the courtroom. The defendant was caring, tried to protect the girl and encouraged her to stop drinking. He didn’t want her to prostitute herself to finance her consumption. The young person contacted him because of the drugs, but for her it wasn’t just about the drugs; she also found support and security with the adult.
According to the chairwoman, the judges based the verdict on ten cases in 2020 that the defendant admitted during the trial. In reality there were many more cases, said the chairwoman. However, the exact number cannot be determined. The man allowed the young person to use his stash of drugs in his apartment. For the verdict, it was enough that he accepted that she was not yet 18 years old, even without knowing her exact age. The defendant has been addicted to drugs himself for 30 years and therefore has “a different sense of values”. The man had spoken of consuming alcohol, heroin and crack.
Initially, 286 cases were charged. According to the testimony of the now 19-year-old teenager, it remained unclear from the prosecutor’s point of view how often the man had actually provided her with drugs. In her statement, she said the adult never forced drugs on her. She also reported that she sometimes brought drugs with her, paid for with money she had begged. Sometimes she and the man went begging together in downtown Darmstadt and used the money to buy drugs together.
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