The victim had to wait four years before the Norderstedt Juvenile Court recognized her suffering. It found her former tennis coach guilty of all charges. But there are others affected.
The former tennis coach has been sentenced to one year and one month in prison on probation and 2,400 euros in damages. The family of the victims reacted to the verdict with great relief, said their lawyer Joachim Breu. “My client now has the opportunity to complete the story for herself.”
The extent to which the abuse affected the then minors became clearly visible in the process. In two video interrogations, Sophie (Name changed by editors) your history. Her statements show how her trainer exploited the relationship of dependency.
Prosecutor speaks of “criminal energy”
“Although the person concerned tried to get him to stop, he continued, even improved,” said the judge. The public prosecutor speaks of “criminal energy”: After the death of a close family member, the girl was not doing well. “He looked for the weakest person in the training group and made himself an important reference person. The framework that is supposed to give her support turns against her.”
Defendant confesses
So far, the accused had always denied the allegations. At the beginning of the main hearing, he then made a confession and conceded the fortyfold sexual abuse of the wards and sexual harassment. This paved the way for a verdict based on an agreement and further days of negotiations were superfluous. In the interests of those affected, her lawyer agreed, even if the verdict was perhaps a little milder.
“Sophie will have to struggle all her life with what happened to her at the hands of the perpetrator. No decision by this court can change that.”
— Attorney Joachim Breu
For years, the accused groped Sophie during training and touched her intimate area during stretching exercises. “I was ten or eleven years old and didn’t know what that meant,” said Sophie in the interrogation. At some point, the attacks were simply too frequent for her to be able to process them, she continued to report.
Others also reported abuse
This fact alone makes it clear how much suffering the now 18-year-old endured in order to come close to her big dream. “I wanted to become a professional player and he was the best tennis coach in Schleswig-Holstein,” said Sophie in one of the interrogations. At the time, she was talking to several young tennis talents in a chat group, all of whom reported assaults.
Sexual Abuse Helpline
Free and anonymous telephone advice: 0800 22 55 530
Sexual abuse help line: www.hilfe-telefon- Abuse.de
Sexual abuse help line online advice: www.hilfe-telefon-abusss.online
The “Sexual Abuse Help Line” is the nationwide, free and anonymous contact point for victims of sexual violence, for relatives and people from the social environment of children, for professionals and for anyone interested.
Not for the first time: in the past there had been reports against the tennis coach for sexual abuse and also a comparison. Shortly before the start of the trial, a woman from his formerly close environment had contacted the NDR and reported attacks as early as the 1980s.
This topic in the program:
sports club | 02/12/2023 | 10:50 p.m
