April 10, 2025 – In the first quarter of 2025 we had already a  number of cases involving child and youth pornography that were handled under the new legislation.

There were cases that were discontinued due to lack of suspicion (Section 170 II of the German Criminal Code (StGB)) and three cases that were discontinued due to minor offenses (Sections 153, 153a of the German Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO)), because only files were found mainly in the user`s  cache or deleted files were found, or because our client's intent to possess the files could not be established. In addition, there were cases dismissed pursuant to Section 45 of the German Juvenile Court Act (JGG) (waiver of prosecution under the Juvenile Court Act). The reduction in penalties since the reform of Section 184b of the German Criminal Code (StGB) last year is undoubtedly having an effect.

German criminal defense lawyer on Section 184b (3) StGB

Section 184b (3) StGB, which is often cited in indictments and verdicts, makes the possession of child pornography a criminal offense, but only if the perpetrator intended to possess child pornography and knew at the time of the offense that the data were on their cell phone or computer.

In criminal trials, it is not uncommon for “experts” from the police to be called to testify about what they found on the defendant's property, but the expertts often are unable to say whether the defendant actually knew that he had the files on his mobile phone or computer. 

Often, the police only find “deleted files” because many people have been confronted with such data at some point but definitely did not want them and therefore deleted them. 

According to case law and legal literature, the intention to possess is lacking if files only remain in locations that are not accessible to the specific user or to average computer users. 

What is the cache?

In many reports on the evaluation of seized data carriers, the term “cache” appears as the location where police experts also found child pornography files. The term “cache” is derived from the French word “la cache,” which means “the hiding place.”

In fact, the cache in a browser is a type of fast buffer storage that you as a user cannot actually see. But you have probably noticed when surfing the Internet that content can be restored more quickly when you access a page again. The cache has this effect and serves to display content more quickly. The cache acts as a temporary storage location for certain data that reflects your surfing behavior but not more, not under all circumstances that you have committed a crime.