Former Germany defender Jérôme Boateng found guilty of causing bodily harm to ex-partner
MUNICH (AP) — Former Germany and Bayern Munich defender Jérôme Boateng was convicted Friday of causing bodily harm to his former partner and was handed a suspended fine and a warning as a years-long domestic abuse case came to an end.
Judge Susanne Hemmerich, who presided over a retrial that started last month, said Boateng will only have to pay a fine of 200,000 euros ($220,000) if he commits another offense. However, as part of the conditions for the sentence he has to pay 50,000 euros ($55,000) each to two children’s charities.
Hemmerich had halted the proceedings on the first day of the trial, urging both parties to find an agreement to spare the former couple's two daughters from the public scrutiny surrounding the case.
“The real victims in this case are the children in my opinion,” Hemmerich said Friday in comments reported by news agency dpa.
It was the fourth time Boateng went on trial on the same charges of assault against his former partner Sherin Senler. Boateng has always denied the charges.
The charges against Boateng were first brought in 2019. Boateng denied hitting and injuring Senler in July 2018 when they were on vacation in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
In September 2021, Boateng was found guilty of domestic violence against Senler and ordered to pay a fine of 1.8 million euros, the highest possible financial damages that could be imposed by the Munich District Court. In November 2022, he was convicted of assault and ordered to pay 1.2 million euros to Senler, but that decision was overturned at a regional court because of legal errors and the process had to be restarted.
Boateng also faces allegations of assault against another former girlfriend, Kasia Lenhardt, in 2019. The investigation was closed in 2020 after Lenhardt decided not to provide any more incriminating statements, but it was reopened following her death in February 2021 when authorities received new information from police. Lenhardt, a model, was found dead in a Berlin apartment. Police said they found no evidence of outside involvement.
Boateng’s attorney rejected the allegations.
Boateng played 76 games for Germany. He joined Austrian team Linz in May.
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