Trial for 500,000 child porn files in Salzburg
The 59-year-old said he has experienced abuse himself in his life and suffers from depression. He was accused of pornographic depictions of minors. The trial was adjourned for an expert opinion.
Perpetrator sees depression as the reason
The child pornographic images and videos were seized during a house search. The native of Upper Austria is said to have visited an associated forum on the Internet. “When I fall into a hole and I’m depressed, these kinds of acts happen. Nobody understands that,” said the accused at the trial at the Salzburg Regional Court. This hole opened up after his psychiatrist retired.
According to the divorced man, he has had a new therapist since April 2021. Since then he has looked at less child pornography, but never stopped. He also takes medication for depression. The accused alleges that he took child pornographic photos of a girl born in 2013.
After 2005 no more support
The accused was last examined by a court in 2005. At that time, no mental abnormality was identified. The judge now wants to find out the current mental state of the accused. Therefore, the court-sworn psychiatrist Gabriele Wörgötter is commissioned to assess the man. When the expertise is there, the process WILL.
More cases
Two other cases of pornographic depictions of minors were heard at the Salzburg Regional Court on Monday. A 29-year-old from Tennengau is said to have owned a large number of relevant files. He had already confessed to the investigators and was sentenced today to three months’ imprisonment with no final judgment. He also has to undergo psychotherapy. A young man was also accused of downloading two child pornographic files from the Internet when he was still a teenager. The process ended with a diversion in the form of a one-year probationary period and a referral to sex therapy.
Section 207a of the Criminal Code provides for a sentence of up to three years imprisonment.