The district court in Kassel found a young firefighter from northern Hesse guilty of having started three fires himself so that he could then take part in the extinguishing work. The judges suspended the decision to impose a juvenile sentence for two years on probation.
During this time, the 19-year-old will be under the supervision and direction of a probation officer. If he violates the conditions of probation within the two years, the court can impose a youth penalty in a new procedure.
The court was unable to determine with certainty whether the juvenile’s crimes had harmful tendencies of a magnitude that required a juvenile sentence, the presiding judge explained. The defendant had previously admitted that he had set fire to a book house, a shelter and a stack of logs in October and November 2022, causing total damage of more than 17,000 euros.
He wanted to prove his ability to work in a team
The 19-year-old explained on Wednesday that he had also changed the volunteer fire brigade due to a change of residence. “I was worried that I wouldn’t find a connection there.” He wanted to prove his ability to work in a team during the operations of the new fire brigade group that followed the arson. He was under the influence of alcohol during the crime. He was tipsy and thoughtless.
Since the accused had committed the offenses as an adolescent, the case was heard before the juvenile court. The court based its decision on the Juvenile Courts Act (Section 27). It states that a judge can determine the guilt of a juvenile but stay the decision on imposing a juvenile sentence for a probationary period to be determined.
Both the public prosecutor’s office in Kassel and the defense had pleaded for a one-year suspended sentence. Both sides later said they would not appeal. The judgment is thus final.
