Youth pastor admits he raped mentally depressed girl

BERLIN

A youth pastor admitted during a court hearing in Germany on Wednesday that he raped a mentally depressed girl five years ago, German media reported.

"I'm so sorry. I just can't find the words for it,” the 37-year-old told the district court in Traunstein, and promised that “something like this will not happen again."

The pastor met the 16-year-old victim while he was working at a Catholic Church in the southeastern state of Bavaria, German news agency DPA reported.

According to the prosecutors, he offered the parents to take care of the girl, who was suffering from depression, and regularly met with her in the church’s music rehearsal room.

In 2018, while the girl was taking antidepressants to treat depression, he brought her to hotel in Munich, sexually abused and raped her in the room, according to the indictment.

The court is expected to hand down its verdict next week, according to local media reports.

Youth pastors work for churches to educate children and teenagers about Christianity.

In Germany, recent investigations have revealed that hundreds of children were sexually abused by the clergy in more than 50 years, but most of the cases were covered up by the church authorities.