Domestic Violence: Foster children abused for years – multi-year prison sentence

A former head of a care group has been sentenced to three years and four months in prison for the systematic abuse of four foster children over a nine-year period. The Berlin Regional Court found the 45-year-old educator guilty of mistreatment and severe mistreatment in two cases, concluding that physical and psychological violence had become a daily reality for the children, who lived in constant fear.

The court detailed various forms of abuse, including the use of "police grips," constant hair-pulling, verbal insults, and being woken and dragged from their beds at night. One particularly disturbing incident involved a boy, aged five or six, who was scalded with water that was too hot, resulting in burns to his back and requiring hospitalization.

According to the indictment, the abuse occurred between February 2010 and August 2019 in Berlin-Spandau and Oranienburg. The siblings, who were between two and eight years old at the time, lived in a family-like group home led by the accused and his wife. The court noted that both were inexperienced, having recently completed their training, and lacked adequate support and oversight from the organization responsible for the home.

The proceedings, which began in 2019 after the eldest child came forward with accusations, faced significant delays. The court acknowledged a "procedural delay contrary to the rule of law" and declared four months of the sentence to be considered served. The judge highlighted that the defendant's confession was taken into account in the sentencing, simplifying the process for the children who were spared lengthy testimony.