Expatica news

Severely disabled woman raped

9 March 2007

BRUSSELS – A 41-year-old disabled man from De Haan was sentenced in absentia by the Hasselt court to 18 months in prison and denial of his civil rights for five years. He was on trial for the rape of a 20-year-old disabled woman. He will have to serve the full 18 months.

In the same case, a 25-year-old man from Hasselt was sentenced to 12 months in prison, also effective, and denial of civil rights for five years. The events of the case took place in Sint-Truiden between 15 and 22 April 2005.

On 30 April 2005 the Sint-Truiden police were called in because several young men were banging on the door of an apartment. The police came across several men in the vicinity, one of which was the Hasselt resident. He said he had been banging on the door because the tenant of the apartment, the man from De Haan, a disabled man, had raped his girlfriend a week earlier.

The young woman, also disabled, did acknowledge that she had been raped, but says she did not report it because she feared reprisals from the man in De Haan. The man from De Haan claims that the Hasselt resident came to his home a week earlier and offered to allow him to have sexual contact with the woman in exchange for money.

The man paid one euro for a hug, and 10 euro for sexual contact. The Hasselt man admitted he had received money. The woman is severely mentally handicapped and more than 66 percent incapacitated. The man from De Haan abused her extremely vulnerability.

The court took into account the total lack of respect for the physical and emotional integrity of the victim and the criminal past of the Hasselt man in deciding on the penalties.

[Copyright Expatica News 2007]

Subject: Belgian news