Universität zu Köln

Feld, Katharina, Feld, Dustin, Karger, Bernd, Helmus, Janine, Schwimmer-Okike, Nneka, Pfeiffer, Heidi, Banaschak, Sibylle and Wittschieber, Daniel (2021). Abusive head trauma in court: a multi-center study on criminal proceedings in Germany. Int. J. Legal Med., 135 (1). S. 235 - 245. NEW YORK: SPRINGER. ISSN 1437-1596

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Abstract

The shaken baby syndrome (SBS) is a common variant of abusive head trauma (AHT) in infants and toddlers. Data on the legal outcome of such cases are still sparse. By means of a retrospective multi-center analysis, 72 cases of living children diagnosed with SBS/AHT from three German university institutes of legal medicine were identified. Forty-six of these cases with 68 accused individuals were available and could be evaluated with regard to basic data on the course of the criminal proceedings as well as the profile of the defendants (sub-divided into suspects, convicts, and confessed perpetrators). Criminal proceedings predominantly commenced with a complaint by the treating hospital (62%) and were found to be closed (without judgment) in 50% of the cases, mostly due to a lack of sufficient suspicion. Of the 23 cases with judgment, the court decided on acquittal in 4 cases (17%). Imprisonment was the most frequent sentence (16 out of 19 cases with conviction, 84%), whereby the sentence has been suspended on probation in 63% of the cases. Suspects and perpetrators were mostly male and derived from the close family environment of the injured children. All confessed perpetrators stated an excessive demand as the reason for the violent shaking of the child. The results of the present study are in line with data from other studies with other legal systems. As many criminal proceedings were closed and the 4 acquittals occurred because the perpetration could not be ascribed to a specific perpetrator, improving the forensic methods for such an unequivocal assignment would be desirable.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Feld, Katharina UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Feld, Dustin UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Karger, Bernd UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Helmus, Janine UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Schwimmer-Okike, Nneka UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Pfeiffer, Heidi UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Banaschak, Sibylle UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Wittschieber, Daniel UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-315445
DOI:	10.1007/s00414-020-02435-5
Journal or Publication Title:	Int. J. Legal Med.
Volume:	135
Number:	1
Page Range:	S. 235 - 245
Date:	2021
Publisher:	SPRINGER
Place of Publication:	NEW YORK
ISSN:	1437-1596
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language SHAKEN-BABY-SYNDROME; BRAIN-INJURY; YOUNG-CHILDREN; INFANTS; PERPETRATORS; HEMORRHAGES; ADMISSIONS; SHAKING; STATES Multiple languages Medicine, Legal Multiple languages
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/31544