Facts
The appellant, a Syrian national, was convicted by the High Court of the Canton of Zurich for attempted sexual acts with a child in the sense of Art. 187 para. 1 SCC in conjunction with Art. 22 para. 1 SCC. He had made contact with a person allegedly 14 years old through an app and agreed to sexual acts with her. The appellant was sentenced to a conditional prison term of 8 months and expelled from the country for 5 years. The appellant appealed against this judgment and requested that paragraphs 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 of the judgment of the High Court of the Canton of Zurich of 20 September 2021 be annulled.
The appellant complained of an arbitrary establishment of the facts and an arbitrary legal assessment. He argued that the lower court had obviously incorrectly established the facts and that the threshold for a punishable attempt had not been exceeded. The appellant also requested that the order of expulsion be annulled, as it would cause a serious personal hardship and the public interest in expulsion did not outweigh the private interests of the foreigner in remaining in Switzerland.
Considerations
The Federal Court dismissed the appeal, insofar as it was admissible. It found that the lower court had not obviously incorrectly established the facts and that the threshold for a punishable attempt had been exceeded. The Federal Court found that the appellant had sought contact with the allegedly 14-year-old person and had relentlessly driven the communication with her forward. He had sought a sexualized conversation content and had made it unmistakably clear to the person that he wanted to kiss her and have sex with her.
The Federal Court also came to the conclusion that the order of expulsion was lawful. It found that the appellant, as a rejected asylum seeker with…