Germany Will Reduce Sentences For Possession of Child Pornography, Downgrade From Felony to Misdemeanor

Germany will downgrade the severity of punishment for individuals found guilty of possessing child pornography.

In a press release on Wednesday, the German Bundestag confirmed that it had passed legislation lowering the minimum sentences for distribution, acquisition, and possession of child pornographic content. The law will also downgrade it from a crime to a misdemeanor.

Reduxx reports:

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.”

According to lawmakers, the change is require to provide “flexibility” for juvenile offenders found guilty of such offenses. The legislation states:

A downgrade to a misdemeanor is also urgently required in order to be able to respond appropriately and with the necessary flexibility to the large proportion of juvenile offenders. Here, too, the perpetrators generally do not act in order to be sexually aroused by the child pornography content, but rather out of a drive typical of the adolescent stage of development, such as naivety, curiosity, thirst for adventure or the desire to impress.

While the law passed with the votes of the country’s left-wing coalition, it was opposed by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Germany’s largest opposition party.

“The distribution, possession and acquisition of child pornography must … remain classified as crimes. Even if the increase in the penalty range … has led to practical problems in certain cases, a blanket reduction in the penalty range is the wrong solution,” the party said in a statement.

“A change should be limited to the problem cases and solve them effectively. Scientific findings show that if the penalty framework shifts downwards, the penalties imposed in practice also tend to be lower.”

Unfortunately, such legislation is a mere stepping stone towards the long-term aim of many progressives around the world to legalize pedophilia altogether. Such efforts must be resisted by all of us at every turn.

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