Zurich teacher banned from teaching for life over child pornography
A teacher in the canton of Zurich downloaded six child pornography videos – allegedly for "market research". Courts imposed a lifelong ban from the profession.
Lifelong occupational ban for Zurich educator following download of child pornography
As reported by Blick, a teacher in the canton of Zurich deliberately searched for child pornographic material on a specialised network and stored six videos on his hard drives. Three of the files show naked girls in poses with a focus on their genitals; the remaining three document sexual acts involving children. Authorities became aware of the activity, the public prosecutor's office seized his devices, and the case went to court.
The Winterthur district court convicted the man of multiple counts of hard pornography and sentenced him to a conditional fine of 9,600 francs. Of greater consequence was the additional penalty: the court imposed a lifelong occupational ban. His career as an educator ended immediately. The ban prohibits any professional and organised non-professional activity involving regular contact with minors.
Legal basis in Switzerland
Pornography as such is not prohibited in Switzerland. However, when it comes to child pornography, criminal law draws an uncompromising line. Comics, anime, computer games and digitally rejuvenated adults also fall under the prohibition. The legislature justifies this on the grounds that consumption of such content creates demand and thereby promotes the sexual exploitation of children. In addition to a fine or custodial sentence, an occupational ban may be imposed depending on the severity of the offence.
"Market research" defence fails before three courts
The teacher challenged the lifelong ban. He claimed he had acted without sexual motivation. The action had been a form of "market research", he explained, to explore the supply of child pornography on the internet. He had not found the videos stimulating but rather shocking and disgusting. He also pointed to his previously unblemished past: he has no criminal record, immediately handed over all passwords and showed remorse. With only six files, a lifelong occupational ban was disproportionate, he argued.
Neither the Zurich cantonal court nor the Federal Court accepted this reasoning. A lifelong occupational ban is the rule as soon as the material shows sexual acts involving minors. Exceptions exist only for particularly minor cases – for example, if teenagers share a homemade video in a chat group and the file remains solely on their own smartphone.
Federal Court: deliberate download of serious abuse documents carries too much weight
According to the Federal Court, the present case differs fundamentally from such exceptions. As an adult, the man had actively and deliberately sought out and downloaded the material. Particularly significant was the content: three of the videos document real, serious sexual abuse of children. The fact that viewing the content allegedly made the man feel nauseous and that he had behaved cooperatively does not change the legal assessment. The lifelong ban from working as a teacher or in another context with minors remains in place.
Source: Blick