A police officer in Germany was found guilty of sexual assault after stealthing (removing his condom without his partner's knowledge) a woman without her consent. This occurrence is particularly noteworthy because the case is thought to be the first instance of stealthing being prosecuted in Germany, which was only made possible after the country reformed their sex crime laws in 2016.
The 36-year-old defendant had been found guilty last week for the offense, which had occurred in November 2017. The officer was also on trial for rape, but the court decided he was not culpable for that because the sex itself was considered consensual. As punishment for the sexual assault verdict, he received an eight-month suspended sentence, paid a fine for damages that total roughly $3,400, and was also ordered to pay an additional $100 for the victim's sexual health test.
As reported by CNN, the victim told the court that she stressed to the guy that he needed to wear protection, and that she gave no consent to have sex without it. She further stated that she was unaware he had removed his condom until he ejaculated.
She says that she left his home in a rage, that she feared she may have contracted an STD, and that she called the cops to his property but that he didn't answer his door. The guilty party had defended himself by stating that the condom was already ripped before removing it and that he ejaculated outside the victim's body (which she denied). He further declared his intent to appeal the decision to one of Berlin's two higher courts.
Stealthing is still a crime that is rarely prosecuted around the globe, which means that there is little in the way of legal precedent for judges looking to sentence guilty defendants. While this case was the first known one of its kind to be prosecuted in Germany, previous criminal trials for the violation have taken place in Canada and Switzerland. The U.S. has yet to review a stealthing case.
