1 year ago15 points(+0/-0/+15Score on mirror)2 children
Here's a link to the article: https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/germany-decriminalizes-child-porn/
Title is slightly misleading, as rather than "decriminalize" it, they just lowered the minimum sentence so it could qualify as a misdemeanor. Note that the maximum sentence was not changed. Also note that this decision is simply a reversal of a law that went into effect in 2021 which had increased the minimum sentence to felony status. Supposedly, the reason this law is now being reversed is because possession of child porn is something that can "accidentally" happen to parents, teachers, etc., when handling children's devices, and courts were frustrated that, as a felony, it was difficult to get the charges dropped in these situations. I don't know if I buy that explanation, but there you go.
1 year ago3 points(+0/-0/+3Score on mirror)2 children
Thank you for this explanation! I was thinking "how does this keep happening to Germany?" but knowing it was a reversal from a 2021 law that had unintended consequences makes way more sense.
If a pedo is released with no punishment, you can bet the local community will remember and do mob justice. 1 year in prison is unfortunately enough time for people to forget plus that they have their own segregated section in prison to be protected from prison justice.
Might be related to chat control as well, were AI scan private chats in most (((big tech))) platforms and flags any material that may be considered CP. This could include family photos of your own kids which people like to share to other family members in what they believe is a private chat.
Truest but verify, there's a reason behind every decision.
1 year ago7 points(+0/-0/+7Score on mirror)1 child
They did it because as a minimum 1 year offence the prosecutor did not have discretion to drop the case, they need to be able to drop the cases for the invaders. They say it is for parents who find it on their childrens phones and "forward it to other parents or administrators" but who the fuck would forward CSAM material to others? They should be killed for being that retarded.
But Germany’s justice ministry said in an email to Reuters that lawmakers had not voted to decriminalise the possession of child pornography.
A spokesperson said Germany's parliament had backed reducing, opens new tab the minimum jail sentence for distributing child pornography from one year to six months. For possessing or acquiring, minimum terms have been cut from one year to three months. The maximum term for such offences remains 10 years.
With a minimum jail term under one year, the offences are now considered misdemeanours rather than felonies, added the spokesperson. This is confirmed, opens new tab by section 12 of the German Criminal Code.
In June 2021, Germany tightened, opens new tab laws around child pornography, raising the minimum sentence for distribution, acquisition and possession to one year.
But feedback from the courts and public prosecutor’s office highlighted problems with the law change. With a one-year minimum sentence there was no way someone “who had not acted out of paedo-criminal energy” could avoid jail, said the justice ministry spokesperson, for example when a mother finds child pornography on her offspring’s phone and forwards it to other parents or teachers to alert them.
By downgrading the lesser offences to a misdemeanour, it allows for shorter sentences to be imposed or for the case to be dropped, added the spokesperson.
It's a hard crime to prove too when dealing with digital material stored on encrypted devices. Cops can't set up traps to gather evidence as that would be "crime provocation", they can't torture a suspect to give up encryption keys and password, and the fact that it exist on a device or drive owned by someone is not proof enough that the person downloaded the material themselves.
Think of all the remote controlled devices today, the cloud and so on. Many ways for someone who want to set you up to sneak in their own stash of such material into your device then report you for possession of it.
Perhaps this is for the best, as it saves the taxpayers a lot of money trying to investigate a crime that will likely not lead anywhere, plus that after the suspect spend time in jail, they get paid for it if not convicted which is ridiculous when dealing with an actual pedo whose crime couldn't be proven. 1 year is also enough for people to forget about the case.
With mob justice, the person who finds out won't go to the police, but will instead take a walk around town, gathering a mob of people, showing them the evidence, then before you know it 100 men march down to the pedos house, barricade the doors and windows and burn it down with the pedo still inside.
A.K.A. legal for pay.