Facts

The appellant, [X.] , was found guilty by the Higher Court of the Canton of Zurich of simple bodily harm, negligent bodily harm, and assault, and was sentenced to a fine of 90 daily rates of CHF 30.--. The appellant filed an appeal with the Federal Court and requested that she be acquitted of guilt and punishment.

The appellant is the aunt of the respondent 1, who was born in Cameroon in 1992. After the father's death in 2002, the appellant took in the child. For respondent 1, fake identity papers were issued in Africa, which stated the appellant as the biological mother, so that she could bring the child to Europe.

The appellant and respondent 1 relocated to Switzerland in early 2003. The appellant stated for the first time in the hearing of November 17, 2006, that she was not the mother of respondent 1.

The appellant is accused of hitting respondent 1 in the summer of 2003 in the kitchen of her apartment during an argument with a cooking pot, hitting her hands several times and causing an open laceration. Furthermore, she is accused of pouring boiling water over respondent 1's left side and left upper arm in the winter of 2003, causing second-degree burns.

Finally, the appellant is accused of regularly hitting respondent 1 from the beginning of 2003 to May 11, 2004, about three times a month, with her hand, a belt, or a tied-up plant, and of regularly forcing her, about twice a month, to kneel on a pizza box filled with small sharp stones for about three hours.

Considerations

The Federal Court examined the appeal and came to the conclusion that the appeal is partially well-founded. The lower court had confirmed the conviction for negligent bodily harm, although the criminal complaint was not filed within the statutory period of three months. The Federal Court found, however, that the period for filing the complaint only began to run from the day after the hearing of February 22, 2007, as only then were the clear contours of the facts and legal situation apparent.

The Federal Court also found that the lower court had rightly confirmed the conviction for assault, but had not correctly calculated the statute of limitations for the assault. The statute of limitations begins on the day the perpetrator commits the last act.…