Sexual violence in youth detention centre: Nivelles court sentences 20-year-old man to four years in prison
A 20-year-old young man has been sentenced to four years in prison with probationary suspension for sexual assaults on a 13-year-old minor in a youth protection institute in Walloon Brabant.
Sexual violence in youth detention centre: Nivelles court sentences 20-year-old man to four years in prison
A 20-year-old young adult has received a four-year prison sentence with probationary suspension from the criminal court of Walloon Brabant. The magistrate has also stripped him of his civil rights for a period of five years. The conduct in question involved touching and sexual coercion exercised against a 13-year-old adolescent in a youth placement facility (IPPJ) where both individuals resided.
It was the adolescent himself who broke his silence, first by speaking to a lay counsellor, then to other adult reference figures within the institution. The boy, who is reserved by nature, recounted how the accused had built a relationship with him through conversations, diverting certain discussions. Later, on multiple occasions, the defendant entered the showers when the victim was unclothed and forced him to perform oral sex, according to DHnet.
Before the judges, the defendant did not deny the facts. However, he claimed that it was the younger boy who was soliciting him and that he found it difficult to say no, whilst conceding that he had committed an offence.
The counsel for the injured party denounced this reasoning as typical of the rhetoric of sexual aggressors refusing to accept their culpability. The prosecution, for its part, had described the defendant as a "time bomb" and had called for a 40-month sentence with suspension.
The final sentence exceeded the prosecution's request. It is accompanied by binding obligations: psychological monitoring, specialised treatment for perpetrators of sexual offences, and a prohibition on any contact with minors.
Source: DHnet