Riding school in Dour: 24-year-old from Mons sentenced to 30 months suspended for rape
A resident of Mons has been sentenced to thirty months in prison with suspension for rape and sexual assault of young riders attending a riding school in Dour. The prosecution had sought three years imprisonment without suspension.
Thirty months suspended for sexual assault at a Borinage riding school
A 24-year-old from Mons has been sentenced to thirty months in prison with a probationary suspension of three years for rape and sexual assault, according to DHnet. The facts occurred at a riding school in Dour, where the defendant presented himself as a seducer to young female riders.
Four young girls reported his conduct. Among them, a 13-year-old adolescent who described two sexual relations which she presented as consensual — a notion legally excluded at this age in the circumstances described. Being in love with the young man, she had not wished to file a complaint. A second adolescent reported forced digital penetration. A third described how repeated advances had gradually led to forced sexual acts.
The court, however, did not follow the prosecution on all of the charges. The young man was acquitted on some of them, the judges having expressed doubts about the credibility of the statements of certain complainants.
During the investigation, the atmosphere at the riding school was also questioned: whip strikes on the buttocks and inappropriate gestures had been mentioned. The defendant, who came to look after his father's horse, for his part denounced a plot orchestrated by the manager, following his exclusion from the establishment in October 2023.
The Mons resident constantly contested the accusations. According to him, one of the adolescents had not taken well to his refusal of a romantic relationship. "She wanted to go out with me, I was already in a relationship. She did not appreciate it," he had stated.
For the public prosecutor, the defendant exercised real psychological pressure on these young girls. The assistant prosecutor had sought three years imprisonment without suspension, describing him as a "predator masquerading as a seducer".
Fabrice Guttadauria, defence counsel, had pleaded for acquittal, arguing that the case was based on stable rumours and exchanges between adolescents. "My client is certainly not a sexual predator," he had insisted, relying on psychological assessments. According to him, the young man was above all an immature adolescent, incapable of setting boundaries. "Since then, he has become a father, works and has matured," the defence lawyer had added.
The court finally imposed a sentence of thirty months in prison with probationary suspension of three years, rejecting the imprisonment without suspension sought by the prosecution.
Source: DHnet