The case sent shockwaves far beyond Hamburg. Between 2015 and 2023, a coach at two sailing clubs on the Alster abused several children, both during joint sailing camps and on other occasions. In April 2025, the Hamburg Regional Court convicted the man, now aged 30 and from Hamburg, on ten of the 19 charges brought against him for sexual abuse – in some cases serious sexual abuse – of children and young people.
The Federal Court of Justice has dismissed an appeal. The judgement, which is in the editorial team’s possession, is now final. What makes this case particularly serious is that, although both clubs had been issued with warnings, one of them continued to employ the coach. This led to further incidents of abuse. But how could this have happened?
Clubs with a deceptive sense of familiarity
The judgement details much of the crime and the defendant’s background. According to the judgement, the defendant learnt to sail as a child at one of the two sailing clubs on the Außenalster. At the age of 16, he began working there as a volunteer coach; later, he also undertook a Federal Voluntary Service placement at the neighbouring club. This was followed by a degree in teacher training. Alongside his studies, he took part in regattas and training trips.
What nobody suspected for a long time was that, from 2015 onwards, he began to abuse children from the club. This mainly took place during sailing camps, where the children slept together in a yurt at night. However, according to the court, sexual assaults also occurred repeatedly on other occasions.
The victims were boys from the club – pre-pubescent, aged between ten and 14. According to the judgement, the perpetrator specifically targeted children who were particularly vulnerable due to difficult life circumstances. One of the victims had lost his mother and was living with a foster family. The Mirror and that Hamburger Abendblatt reported on this case in detail.
Incidents were first reported at the end of 2022
The fact that many of these acts went undetected for a long time is attributed, amongst other things, to the family-like atmosphere within the club where the coach was mainly active. Physical closeness was long interpreted there as something positive, as a sign of a special bond. Experts refer to this as the ideal breeding ground for so-called ‘grooming’. This involves the systematic, long-term process of gaining trust in order to push boundaries and make children compliant with sexual abuse.
In October 2022, during a training camp, two female coaches from another club observed that the coach was behaving inappropriately towards some of the children. They reported the incident immediately. As a result, the coach was forced to leave the camp early. Hamburger Sportjugend also learnt of this and took the lead in handling the case.
Clubs deal with allegations in different ways
One of the two clubs reacted swiftly, suspending the coach as soon as the incident came to light and dismissing him shortly afterwards. In a club statement available to the public, the board referred to a “serious issue regarding appropriate boundaries”. A meeting took place in early 2023. In addition to the clubs concerned, representatives from sailing and sports federations took part. The experts’ recommendation was clear: the coach should no longer be employed.
At the other club, the management reacted differently. They ignored the recommendation. Instead, they backed the coach and allowed him to continue taking part in sailing trips. This had disastrous consequences: the court later found that further assaults are said to have taken place between the summer of 2022 and the autumn of 2023.
It was not until early 2024 that the second club also suspended the coach, as the allegations became increasingly specific. In the spring of 2024, several victims filed police reports. In July 2024, the police arrested the defendant; the main hearing took place in March 2025 at the Hamburg Regional Court. During the hearing, an expert witness diagnosed a sexual preference disorder characterised by exclusively homosexual paedophilia.
Coach sentenced to four and a half years’ imprisonment
On 28 April 2025, the court sentenced the coach to a total prison term of four years and six months. In addition, he was ordered to pay compensation for pain and suffering. The Federal Court of Justice dismissed the appeal in the spring of 2026 – the judgement is final.
The trial took place before a youth court because the coach was under 21 at the time of the offence. However, the court sentenced him under the criminal law applicable to adults – and allowed the public to attend the sentencing hearing. This is a clear call to clubs and associations to ensure that they deal with misconduct consistently.
However, whilst the legal proceedings have concluded with the verdict, it remains to be seen what clubs and associations will make of it.
Sharp criticism of a hesitant approach
Following the ruling, the club that had suspended the coach at an early stage issued a public statement in which it strongly condemned the actions of the neighbouring club. It stated that it had been trying to influence the neighbouring club’s board since spring 2023 – without success.
As the coach was still employed by the club, it was impossible to enforce a ban on him using the communal jetty. “Those in charge had to intervene time and again whenever the coach tried to make contact with the children,” the club writes. “An unbearable situation.”
They are not aware of any victims within their own club. The authors of the statement do not rule out the possibility that attempts to approach victims may have taken place. The judgement also leaves open the possibility that further offences, in addition to those for which the defendant was convicted, may have been committed.
Help with violence
The DSV supports clubs in developing safety plans. The central point of contact can be reached at schutzvorgewalt@dsv.org.
Furthermore, many Clubs and associations their own trusted adults and child protection officers.
One independent point of contact For those affected by violence: Safe Sport e.V.: Tel. 0 800/11 222 00 or: ansprechstelle-safe-sport.de
Who is responsible?
The club, which continued to employ the coach, made the following statement to this editorial team: “We acknowledge that decisions were made in the past which we would now view differently.” The statement goes on to say that the club management responsible at the time is aware of its responsibility.
The sports federations recommended that the club’s management resign, but instead they stepped down following early elections. One of the boys involved spoke to the *Hamburger Abendblatt* and said he would have liked someone within the club to clearly take responsibility for the failings. That has not happened so far.
When asked why action had not been taken sooner, the new club management gave an evasive response: “As the newly elected board, we are unable to make a definitive statement on the detailed sequence of events at that time.” It goes on to state that an external specialist solicitor has been commissioned to investigate the circumstances and procedures in a neutral and objective manner. Concrete measures are to be derived from this. What these measures are and when they are to be implemented remains unclear.
“No place for sexual violence”
The German Sailing Association (DSV) stated that it had learnt of the incidents at the same time as the Hamburg Sports Youth Organisation in 2022. The latter took the lead in handling the case. “This is in line with the procedure laid down in Hamburg for cases requiring intervention,” writes the DSV. It was only after the verdict was handed down that the federation became more closely involved in the proceedings.
The DSV does not wish to comment on the specific measures that have been taken or the recommendations it has made. It states that this is to protect those affected and to maintain confidentiality. In principle, the DSV goes on to say, as soon as there is serious evidence against individuals, they “should not be deployed in sensitive roles involving children and young people until the matter has been further clarified.”
It goes on to say: “In the event of final criminal convictions for sexual violence, the DSV will immediately revoke any existing licences. For us, one thing is clear: perpetrators of sexual violence have no place in organised sailing.”
Learning from mistakes
The appeal that the victims have made to clubs and federations by going public seems to have been heard. Yet concrete action is still a long way off. “It is important to note that coming to terms with the past is not a one-off step, but a process,” explains the DSV. It is crucial, it says, that clubs and federations draw concrete conclusions from the mistakes of the past – to protect children and young people. The coming months will show whether this proves successful.
Fabian Boerger
Editor News & Panorama
