The 52-year-old's lawyer presented the statement at the beginning of the trial at the regional court in Augsburg.

Linus Förster, a former member of parliament who also holds a doctorate in political science, is accused of sexually assaulting sleeping women and secretly filming the act.

“I'm sorry, it was wrong,” Förster said, reported the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ). Apologetic for his deeds, Förster in court provided extensive details on the individual acts he had committed.

Since his youth he had sought confirmation through sex, he explained, which saw him cross the line just to satisfy those needs. He also spoke of having a “narcissistic ego,” claiming he had had psychological problems in the past and had also spent time in a clinic.

The once-successful politician had fallen from being a member of the Bavarian state parliament with a monthly salary of more than €7,000 to a sex offender who will likely spend several years in prison, according to the SZ.

In one case Förster admitted to, he had sexually assaulted a drunk, sleeping woman at a garden party. He also admitted to secretly switching on his video camera while having sex with two women in another instance.

Attempting in court to explain why, he said it was a “crazy idea” which gave him “a kick”. When the judge asked him whether these films were something like trophies for him, he replied: “I guess you have to see it that way.”

Förster is also charged with owning more than 1,300 child pornography images and films which were found during police raids.

But the ex-politician denies having procured this material with intent, claiming these photos and videos were transferred to his computers when he “downloaded files from the Internet at random.”

“I have no paedophilic tendencies,” stated Förster, adding that he finds child pornography “disgusting,” though could not explain why he didn't delete the material.

Since Förster has confessed to most of his crimes, he can expect a prison sentence of just under four years. Without a confession, the public prosecutor's office would have aimed for a sentence of six years.

The only accusation Förster rejected was the case in which he allegedly tried to abuse another drunken, sleeping woman in his apartment. “That's not true,” said Förster, who explained that the alleged victim had even enthusiastically written to him in a message after their evening together.

Förster resigned from the SPD as well as from his state parliament mandate at the end of 2016 because of the sex allegations.

He has been in custody since December of last year. A verdict on the trial is expected by the end of September.