Former Real Madrid defender and Germany international Cristoph Metzelder has confessed to having shared 18 files with child and youth pornography on the internet and has apologised.
He also pleaded partially guilty to the possession of the 18 files but he pleaded not guilty to the 300 files that were alleged by the Prosecutor’s Office in Germany, report Diario AS.
The distressing images are said to relate to images of child pornography including one child being sexually abused.
The penalty provided by the Administrative Court of Düsseldorf (West) for Metzelder’s confession was between 10 and 12 months of probation.
Metzelder is reported as saying: “I will accept the sentence and I apologize to the victims of sexual violence. I will bear all my life with the guilt of having caused this evil to society.”
The 40-year-old was appearing in court for the first time in relation to the charges.
Formerly a high-level central defender, Metzelder has been charged with possession of 297 indecent images of children and sending them to three different women via WhatsApp between July and September last year, while he is alleged to have requested images on 29 occasions.
As outlined by Marca, the German’s laptop was seized by authorities last September and new allegations have since come to light, preceding this ongoing court case.
Metzelder made 31 appearances for Madrid between 2007 and 2010.
