Child porn MP likely to be booted out of party
Sebastian Edathy, the disgraced, former Social-Democratic (SPD) MP who admitted to downloading pornographic images and videos of children, will likely be kicked out of his party.
SDP leader Sigmar Gabriel told the Rhein Zeitung newspaper that Edathy, in downloading the pornographic material, had gone against the fundamental beliefs of the party.
“I’m convinced that Sebastian Edathy has seriously damaged the SPD and its reputation,” he told the paper. “Whoever thinks that child pornography is some kind of trivial offence is undermining the basic principles of the SPD”.
Edathy, a 45-year-old domestic affairs expert, was once a rising star in the SPD. He had chaired a parliamentary inquiry into official handling of 10 neo-Nazi murders between 2000 and 2007. But scandal erupted in early 2014 when it emerged that Edathy’s name was linked to a Canadian police investigation into international sales of child pornography.
Edathy’s appeared in a trial in Lower Saxony beginning on Feb. 23 and had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. However, in court he did admit to having downloaded child pornography on his official parliamentary laptop. The court then ruled prosecution would be stopped if Edathy paid €5,000 to the Child Protection Federation of Lower Saxony.
“I've now realized that I made a mistake, and it took me too long to realize it,” Edathy said in a statement read out by his lawyer. “The accusations are true”.
But Gabriel said that Edathy had not shown enough regret for his actions during the trial, and that for months the former MP had painted himself as a victim, not a perpetrator.
“I very early on demanded his expulsion from the SPD because you have to know that child pornography begins with a child being abused or raped,” Gabriel said.
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SDP leader Sigmar Gabriel told the Rhein Zeitung newspaper that Edathy, in downloading the pornographic material, had gone against the fundamental beliefs of the party.
“I’m convinced that Sebastian Edathy has seriously damaged the SPD and its reputation,” he told the paper. “Whoever thinks that child pornography is some kind of trivial offence is undermining the basic principles of the SPD”.
Edathy, a 45-year-old domestic affairs expert, was once a rising star in the SPD. He had chaired a parliamentary inquiry into official handling of 10 neo-Nazi murders between 2000 and 2007. But scandal erupted in early 2014 when it emerged that Edathy’s name was linked to a Canadian police investigation into international sales of child pornography.
Edathy’s appeared in a trial in Lower Saxony beginning on Feb. 23 and had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. However, in court he did admit to having downloaded child pornography on his official parliamentary laptop. The court then ruled prosecution would be stopped if Edathy paid €5,000 to the Child Protection Federation of Lower Saxony.
“I've now realized that I made a mistake, and it took me too long to realize it,” Edathy said in a statement read out by his lawyer. “The accusations are true”.
But Gabriel said that Edathy had not shown enough regret for his actions during the trial, and that for months the former MP had painted himself as a victim, not a perpetrator.
“I very early on demanded his expulsion from the SPD because you have to know that child pornography begins with a child being abused or raped,” Gabriel said.
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