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A last encouraging pat on the shoulder from a companion as he got out of the black van.

Then Christoph Metzelder walks briskly along the line of photographers and cameramen through the main entrance of the Düsseldorf district court.

The ex-national player appears with black mouth and nose protection, gray-mottled jacket and white shirt at the start of the trial. It is the first time that he has appeared publicly since the serious allegations against him became known. He had not yet commented either, but that is about to change.

A few minutes later, the 40-year-old takes a seat in the dock with lowered eyes.

A good one and a half years after the investigation against Metzelder became known, the case will be heard publicly on Thursday.

The allegation is possession of child and youth pornography and forwarding of 29 such files to three women.

Judge Astrid Stammerjohann starts punctually for the minute and immediately hands it over to the public prosecutor, who reads out the indictment.

The prosecutor leaves no doubt about the type of images that were captured in the chat and on Metzelder's cell phone.

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We are talking about girls under the age of ten who must have been sexually abused during the recordings.

The process observers have to endure the difficult-to-bear descriptions for minutes.

Metzelder is said to have sent the files via WhatsApp, including two video files.

"The fascination of the unspeakable lay in crossing borders together"

The public prosecutor lists the days and times in August 2019.

A total of 297 criminal files were on his cell phone.

It is not said where Metzelder got it from.

After a long break, the judge announces what they have agreed on: Ten to twelve months probation in return for a confession, which follows promptly.

He made screenshots of some pictures from freely accessible sites on the Internet and also sent them.

That was 18 files.

“I only owned what I sent,” says Metzelder, and now his voice is faltering and fragile.

Here Christoph Metzelder appears in court

Source: WORLD

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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, ”continues the 40-year-old.

“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. "

This clears the way for a quick judgment.

The search of the investigators represented "a professional and private turning point" for him, he said at the beginning of the process.

He has been living in seclusion ever since.

The Federal Cross of Merit, the State Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia - all public awards will be returned, he then announced.

Metzelder with his defense: Julia Donnepp ​​(l.) And Ulrich Sommer (r.)

Credit: AFP / WOLFGANG RATTAY

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Vice World Champion Metzelder was about to take the big leap in his second career in 2019 after his active football career.

He was in demand as a TV expert, should comment on the EM 2020.

In the early summer of 2019, Metzelder was even brought up for the office of DFB President as the successor to Reinhard Grindel from several sides.

But then came September 4th, 2019, the turning point.

Investigators had missed ex-national player Christoph Metzelder at the football teacher course of the DFB in Hennef.

His room there and his apartment in Düsseldorf were searched and it quickly became public: The vice-world champion of 2002 is being investigated on suspicion of spreading child pornography, as it was called at the time.

Before the start of the trial, defense attorney Sommer said in interviews that Metzelder was "of course not a pedophile".

His client was provoked by a woman with whom he had an intimate relationship at the time and who, he suspects, was directed.

The witness's lawyer had rejected this: It was Metzelder who had steered the subject towards sexual fantasies with minors.

This is clear from the chat history.

His client only showed interest in order to be able to convict him.

After the investigation became known, Metzelder had suspended positions and offices and left the PR agency he co-founded.

He had suspended his participation in the DFB's football teacher training course.