NAfter almost three months, the verdict was reached in the trial against the Baden-Württemberg police inspector. The district court in Stuttgart acquitted Andreas R. on Friday in the process of sexually assaulting a commissioner. The country’s highest-ranking police officer had been accused of urging a significantly younger commissioner to perform sexual favors in front of a Stuttgart pub.
The public prosecutor had demanded a suspended sentence of one year and three months and a fine of 16,000 euros for the inspector.
After a dozen days of negotiations, the verdict ended, at least for the time being, a procedure that made waves in the highest circles of the police and politicians. The case dealt with the question of whether the country’s highest-ranking police officer abused his position of power as a supervisor to urge the commissioner to do sexual favors.
The defense had portrayed the inspector as a victim and the policewoman as a careerist who was specifically looking for contact with higher-ranking men in order to gain professional advantages. The initiative in and in front of the pub in Stuttgart came from the police officer, according to the defense attorney. Defense and co-plaintiffs made serious accusations against each other during the trial.
For many months, an investigative committee in the state parliament has been examining sexual harassment and police promotion practices. Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) came under enormous pressure on the matter.
Disciplinary proceedings against the inspector, who is currently on full-time leave, are still ongoing. Interior Minister Strobl had already publicly announced that he found it difficult to imagine the inspector returning to office – regardless of the outcome of the court case.
