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The Düsseldorf District Court has sentenced former national soccer player Christoph Metzelder to a ten-month suspended prison sentence for forwarding child and youth pornographic files.
The 40-year-old had admitted the accusations of the public prosecutor's office on Thursday in parts.
As a result, the trial against the 40-year-old was ended on the first day.
The verdict is not yet legally binding.
Metzelder had previously made a partial confession.
The 40-year-old admitted the forwarding of 18 child and youth pornographic files.
He did not admit to owning nearly 300 files as charged.
"I only owned what I sent," said the former player from Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04 and Real Madrid.
“I accept the punishment and ask forgiveness from victims of sexual violence.
I will have to live with this guilt as part of society for the rest of my life, ”said Metzelder before the verdict was announced.
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The district court had previously promised a prison sentence of between ten and twelve months with probation in the event of a confession.
There had been an exchange between those involved in the process after the indictment was read out.
To do this, the process was interrupted for over two hours.
The prosecution had accused the 40-year-old of passing on a total of 29 files of child and youth pornography to three women.
Also owning almost 300 files.
The public prosecutor's office gave details at the beginning.
The former national player is said to have sent photos on different days in August 2019 that show the serious sexual abuse of girls under ten years old.
This is what Metzelder said in court
The former footballer commented on his résumé at the beginning of the trial until the first interruption around 10 a.m.
He described the searches and the discovery of the investigation as a "caesura".
Since then, he has been living in retirement, both professionally and privately.
He will return all awards for his social commitment and his voluntary work - such as the State Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Federal Cross of Merit.
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“The fascination of the unspeakable lay in crossing boundaries together.
There have been no attacks and none were planned.
I wasn't in relevant forums either.
All of this took place exclusively in a digital parallel world, ”he continues.
He sent the files "although I know the unspeakable suffering for children behind every file".
He apologized to those present on behalf of all victims of sexual violence.
“I'm leaving a wound that will never heal.
I accept the punishment and ask forgiveness from victims of sexual violence.
I will have to live with this guilt as part of society for the rest of my life, ”he said.
The allegations against Metzelder became known in September 2019.
Police investigators had seized his cell phone during a course at the Hennef sports school.
The District Court of Düsseldorf had emphasized that the 40-year-old is considered innocent until the legal conclusion of the proceedings.