Germany Decriminalizes Child Porn Possession
by Genevieve Gluck, Reduxx:
Germany’s Parliament (Bundestag) has received the votes necessary to remove a section of the Criminal Code which made the possession of child sexual abuse materials a felony crime. Once the bill, passed last Thursday, comes into effect, minimum sentences for the possession of child pornography will be reduced, and the offense will be downgraded to a misdemeanor.
According to the Bundestag, the bill stipulates that “possession and acquisition should be punishable with a minimum penalty of three months’ imprisonment, and distribution with a minimum penalty of six months’ imprisonment, and distribution with a minimum penalty of six months’ imprisonment. The offenses regulated in Section 184b of the Criminal Code are therefore classified as misdemeanors and not as crimes.”
The possession of child sexual abuse materials was first classified as a crime in 2021 after Federal Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) introduced a minimum sentence of one year for the offense. The move classified the act as a felony, which it remained for three years until this most recent downgrade.
Responding to the passage of the bill, chairman of the association “German Children’s Aid – The Permanent Children’s Representation” (Deutsche Kinderhilfe – Die ständige Kindervertretung), Rainer Becker, pointed out that Germany could violate a directive from the European Union that classifies any child pornographic media as a serious criminal offense with the change to the law.
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