Correction of criminal classification for sexual abuse of children with concurrent offenses

The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) dismissed the defendant’s revision as unfounded, thereby upholding the lower court’s conviction, but modified the findings of guilt upon the prosecution’s motion to accurately reflect the legal characterization of the offenses. The case involved a criminal appeal challenging a conviction for sexual abuse of children and related crimes, where the appellate court corrected the specific statutory count to acknowledge seven instances of sexual abuse of children, with one instance in ideal concurrence with a sexual assault, two in ideal concurrence with bodily injury, two in ideal concurrence with the production of child pornography, and one count of attempted coercion. The decisive legal basis centered on the correct application of German criminal statutes regarding sexual offenses against minors (specifically sexual abuse of children, sexual assault, and production of child pornography), the doctrine of ideal concurrence (*Tateinheit*) for overlapping acts, and the procedural framework for appellate review of the statement of guilt (*Schuldspruch*) without altering the sentencing.