Munich: subway driver convicted of sexual abuse – Munich
The subway driver, who lured children into his trains and sexually abused them in turning loops, was sentenced to three years in prison by the 3rd Youth Chamber at the Munich I Regional Court on Friday. Judge Matthias Braumandl justified the “moderate” guilty verdict by saying that the sexual acts were not so massive and no physical or psychological consequences were recognized for the victims. And: Since Marcel S. was on probation for the crime, the two years from his previous conviction are added. “You have a few years in prison ahead of you,” says Braumandl.
The subway driver’s lure was a cute plush unicorn. He took it with him into the driver’s cab during his business trips – and he also used the stuffed animal as a profile picture when he was in chat groups and on various social media channels. There he smuggled himself into chat groups of minors – and pretended to be a child. If he then managed to continue chatting with a minor, he would send nude pictures and videos of children or himself. Sometimes he would ask the children to send him pictures as well.
In 18 cases, the youth chamber found the 23-year-old guilty of sexual abuse of children, as well as offenses such as obtaining child pornography and possessing and distributing the same.
“I started making serious mistakes,” said Marcel S. in court
It was only in December 2019 that Marcel S. was sentenced to two years probation for rape. Less than a year later, he got in touch with twelve-year-old Leon B. (name changed) on. Marcel S. knew that he could lure the minors to ride in the cab of a subway, judge Braumandl said in the verdict.
Marcel S. ordered the twelve-year-old to an underground station, where he boarded. Then he drove the boy either in a turning loop or in the parking facility at a terminal station. There he approached the child, kissed it or tried to grope it. Or he would undress and perform sexual acts on himself in the presence of Leon B. Once, at the Fröttmaning terminus, he gave the boy a bracelet and chocolate before pressing him against the wall and kissing him. Marcel S. acted similarly with another boy. He ordered him to the underground station at the main train station, where he then began to fondle him.
Right at the start of the trial, Marcel S. admitted all allegations and apologized. He’s always had trouble judging closeness and distance. “I started making serious mistakes,” he admitted.
The judgment from 2019 was “obviously irrelevant” to the accused, according to the judge
“We don’t have a monster sitting here,” judge Matthias Braumandl said in the verdict. He assesses the accused as likely to be friendly, polite and repentant people. On the other hand, S. specifically used lures to lure his victims. “And if the affection was not returned, then you could probably become uncomfortable and put pressure on it,” said Braumandl to the 23-year-old.
The court classified it as “blatant” that the 2019 judgment “obviously did not matter” to the accused. The Chamber considered Marcel S. to be in favor of the fact that he had been in custody for a year and a half, “under difficult corona conditions”. And as a juvenile chamber, where the maximum sentence to be imposed is 15 years, you often have to deal with far more massive crimes. In the case of Marcel S., it was mainly so-called “hands-off offenses” that had to be condemned, i.e. the distribution or procurement of child pornographic images or videos.
Benedikt Stehle and Thomas Novak, Marcel S.’s defense attorneys, told the SZ that they would not appeal the verdict.