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The district court of Reutlingen has convicted a lawyer of raping a client (symbolic image)

Photo: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand / dpa

A lawyer from Reutlingen was convicted on Monday of raping a client. The 71-year-old had represented a 31-year-old Nigerian in his asylum proceedings. In his law firm, he forced the young man to perform oral sex, according to the court.

According to the judge in charge, Eberhard Hausch, the crimes took place last year. Hausch describes the course of events to SPIEGEL as follows.

Lawyer K. is said to have initially told the 31-year-old at a meeting in the law firm that it would be helpful for his asylum procedure if he could prove traumas that had arisen from the flight experiences. One possible symptom was sexual disorders, the lawyer claimed, and asked the client if he suffered from such a thing. In addition, he had made an appointment with the urologist on site.

At the next meeting, the 31-year-old presented the urologist's negative findings. The lawyer is said to have said that this was impossible and that he was authorized by the court to carry out a physical examination himself. According to the information, the young man then had to expose himself in front of him.

As a result, the lawyer put a rubber ring around the man's penis and began oral sex. The victim is said to have protested at first, but gave up when the lawyer threatened to have him deported otherwise. After the crime, he also threatened to put the 31-year-old in prison if he told anyone about it.

At another meeting, the young man managed to record the conversation in the office with his mobile phone. In it, the lawyer admits to the crime. The victim then confided in another lawyer, who helped him to report what had happened.

Defendant admitted everything in the end

In the proceedings, according to Judge Hausch, the accused initially denied the crime. He had no homosexual tendencies and the physical approach had been initiated by his client.

However, when the local press began reporting on the case, another lawyer came forward and told investigators that a former client of his had made similar allegations against the colleague. At the time, he thought the story was implausible, but now he would revise his opinion. The second potential victim testified at the trial and gave the names of other possible victims. He also said that there had been a "rendezvous" between the lawyer and several asylum seekers in a house with a pool.

Faced with this burden of proof, the 71-year-old finally confessed. "I became abusive and took advantage of my professional position," he said through his lawyers. The court sentenced him to two years' suspended imprisonment and a temporary ban on his profession. In addition, he must pay the injured party 5000 euros in compensation for pain and suffering and donate 30,000 euros to social institutions. He is also threatened with the permanent withdrawal of his licence by the Bar Association.

Grounds for probation

According to Judge Hausch, the convicted man had practiced as a lawyer on a wide range of issues until a few years ago, but recently he had concentrated almost exclusively on the representation of male asylum seekers from Africa. So there is the appearance of a scam.

So why was the decision made in favor of a suspended sentence? Judge Hausch explains this by saying that the revocation of his licence will mean that the convicted person will no longer have any further opportunity to exercise such power. A repetition of the acts is therefore very unlikely. In addition, he was "socially branded" by the reporting in Reutlingen. What good is it for the general public if he is now locked up in a senior citizens' prison at the expense of the taxpayer? Nothing!" says Hausch.

However, the public prosecutor's office in Tübingen is now investigating several other cases against the man. During the search of the law firm, recordings of the genitals of other possible victims were found, among other things. If further suspected cases are confirmed, it is unlikely that a suspended sentence will be imposed.

ZOB