A German court has closed a child porn case against a prominent former German lawmaker in exchange for a 5,000-euro ($5,600) payment.

Sebastian Edathy was accused of downloading pornographic photos and videos of children on his parliamentary laptop. Edathy admitted doing so and said it was a mistake in a statement read by his lawyer Monday, news agency dpa reported.

The state court in Verden then closed the case in exchange for the payment, which will be given to a child protection group.

German law allows for proceedings to be closed in exchange for a payment or community service "if the degree of guilt does not present an obstacle."

Edathy was a rising star in Germany's junior governing Social Democrats before the allegations. He quit Parliament last February.