Involved In Child Pornography Cases, Former German Defender Metzelder Was Sentenced To 10 Months In Prison

JAKARTA - Former German national team defender Christoph Metzelder was found guilty of child pornography by a Duesseldorf court on Thursday with a suspended sentence of 10 months.

The verdict was the end of a case investigated since 2019 and Metzelder accepted the verdict after admitting that he had consciously sent photos of child pornography on Whatsapp to one of his colleagues.

"I sent the photos even though I knew there was immeasurable suffering from the children in every file that was sent," Metzelder told the court.

"I have left wounds that will never heal and will remain with me for the rest of my life. I accept this verdict," he added.

Metzelder is a former German national team player who finished runner-up at the 2002 World Cup and has a record of 47 times with the Panzer Team including in the 2006 World Cup.

He is also the owner of the German League champion medal when he won it with Borussia Dortmund, as well as being in the uniform of Schalke 04 and Real Madrid.

The child pornography case involving Metzelder saw him resign from the presidency of his childhood club, TuS Haltern, in 2019.

This case also made Metzelder's foundation, which previously did a lot of social work for children, now deactivated.