Jérôme Boateng doesn’t say a word as he leaves the court in the dark on Wednesday evening. He also leaves a young man who asks him for a photo because he is his “biggest fan” in silence.
The Munich I district court had previously passed a judgment that was probably devastating for him. It not only confirms the sentence for assault that the district court of first instance imposed last year, it even tightens it.
Judge Andreas Forstner imposed 120 daily rates of 10,000 euros each. In total, that’s 600,000 euros less than in the first judgment – but double the daily rates. The district court had imposed 60 daily rates of 30,000 euros. If the second decision now becomes final, the soccer world champion of 2014 will have a criminal record.
Ex girlfriend hit, hurt and insulted
“For us, the facts are more than proven,” says Judge Forstner in his verdict. The court has no doubt that Boateng hit, injured and insulted his then partner on a joint Caribbean vacation in 2018 – and that a lantern flew in her direction in a dispute over a card game. Boateng has now even been sentenced in two cases for bodily harm, in the first instance only in one case.
The verdict is probably completely different than what Boateng and his defenders had hoped for. The lawyers had asked for an acquittal.
They assumed in court that his ex-girlfriend invented and “instrumentalized” the allegations “in the fight for the children” and complained that their client had been prejudiced. Boateng is someone “who was actually convicted before he got up in the morning,” says his lawyer Peter Zuriel in his closing argument. “A prominent person cannot defend himself in the same way that a run-of-the-mill person would.”
His colleague Norman Nathan Gelbart speaks of alleged contradictions in the statement by Boateng’s ex-girlfriend: “In case of doubt for the accused,” he says. “In doubtful pro reo.” Judge Forstner replies: “For us there are no dubious and therefore there is nothing pro reo.”
After the verdict, the defense lawyers no longer comment. The lawyer for Boateng’s ex-girlfriend, who appeared in the process as a joint plaintiff, speaks for this. She speaks of a “good decision” and a “David versus Goliath” fight that her client had to fight against the rich and famous ex-boyfriend.
She had joined the prosecutor’s office, which had demanded a suspended sentence of one and a half years and an additional fine of 1.5 million euros.
Prosecutor’s office: Incident probably “just the tip of the iceberg”
The incident in the Caribbean luxury resort is probably “just the tip of the iceberg,” says prosecutor Stefanie Eckert in her closing speech and speaks of a violent relationship between Boateng and his ex-partner.
Eckert also criticizes the footballer’s defense. The prosecutor says his lawyers “threw dirt over the injured party” during the proceedings.
Boateng’s defense attorneys had emphasized before the pleadings that their client’s financial circumstances had changed. Advertising partners have terminated contracts with Boateng – for example for advertising glasses. That’s why he currently only has the income from Olympique Lyon, where he is under contract. That is a little more than 240,000 euros net per month, but that still includes maintenance costs for his three children. The lawyers calculated maintenance costs of 5,000 euros per month per child for Boateng’s eleven-year-old twin daughters alone.
Boateng’s defense lawyers had done everything to ensure that the trial did not end on the third day, submitted one request for evidence after the other – and even a request for bias against Judge Forstner. He reached his goal of completing the process on Wednesday, hours later than hoped.
Boateng still has the opportunity to challenge the verdict with an appeal to the Bavarian Supreme Court, as a court spokeswoman said.
Judge Forstner tells the defendant to think it over carefully. “At some point the defense will also come to an end,” he said at some point during the long court day. “Mr. Boateng, as a defender, probably knows that very well.”
