Facts
The Criminal Court of Basel-Stadt has found X. guilty of multiple attempts of sexual acts with a child and pornography, and sentenced him to 9 months' imprisonment. The Court of Appeal of the Canton of Basel-Stadt has dismissed the appeals of the public prosecutor and the defendant and confirmed the first-instance judgment. The established facts are as follows: Since January 2002, the appellant had been registered under the pseudonyms "A." and "B." in the discussion forum of a homosexual website and had numerous conversations there. On 20 January 2003, he made contact with "Sandro 89" (hereinafter "Sandro"), who stated at the first contact that he was 14 years old. The next day, the appellant made contact with "Sandro" again under his other pseudonym and tried to meet him to engage in sexual acts. He proposed various sexual practices to "Sandro". Subsequently, they agreed to meet on 27 January 2003 at 2:00 pm at the McDonald's restaurant on Centralbahnstrasse in Basel. The appellant appeared for this meeting, but was unable to carry out any sexual acts, as "Sandro" was in fact an undercover investigator of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Basel-Stadt.Considerations
The Federal Court is of the opinion that the appellant has crossed the threshold of the punishable attempt. Although the preparatory acts on the Internet do not yet constitute an attempt, the appellant's appearance at the agreed meeting place with the intention of engaging in sexual acts with the minor represents the last decisive step before the commission of the offence, without the possibility of…