Six years in prison for sexual abuse of two friends' daughters – case from South Moravia
A man from South Moravia received a six-year prison sentence for the sexual abuse of two girls aged 10–12. The case was handled by the Brno Regional Court.
Brno court convicts man for sexual abuse of two girls, daughters of his former partners
A man from South Moravia was sentenced to six years in prison for the sexual abuse of two underage girls – daughters of his former partners at the time. The verdict from the Brno Regional Court from August has now been obtained by Novinky.cz. The judgment is anonymised, so the perpetrator's name cannot be disclosed.
The panel of Judge Petr Jirsa found the man guilty of the dual crime of sexual abuse and endangering the upbringing of youth. Both victims were approximately 10 to 12 years old at the time of the offences.
Attacks during mothers' absence
The man attacked the first girl between 2010 and 2014. According to the verdict, he repeatedly took advantage of moments when the girl's mother was not at home – when she had gone into another room or gone shopping. "In many cases he exploited the mother's absence, when she was either in another room or had gone shopping, entering the room of the underage girl and touching her over her clothing between her thighs and on her genitals," the judgment states. The girl, fearful that no one would believe her, did not confide in anyone.
An almost identical situation was repeated in 2021 with the daughter of another partner. Again, the man subjected the girl to sexual activity at a time when her mother was not present at home.
Defendant denied everything, claimed it was "play"
The man, who is currently without income or property and lives in his sister's flat, rejected all allegations in court. "I may have touched both girls in some inappropriate way, but only in the heat of play, that is, without any sexual intent. Both actively sought my presence and without any hesitation also touched me during our mutual teasing or children's fights," he stated in his testimony.
Court believed both girls
Judge Jirsa acknowledged that the evidence situation was not straightforward. Only the direct testimony of both victims stood against the defendant, while he himself denied everything. The testimony of the first girl, now an adult woman, was deemed credible by the court – she had no motive to harm the defendant according to the court, and she would probably never have spoken about her experiences herself, had it not been for the chance discovery of another girl in a similar situation.
The credibility of the second girl's testimony was supported by the fact that she had confided in her mother and a psychologist from the crisis centre before the proceedings began. Her mother nevertheless did not respond appropriately. "The mother knew about it, but told her that she had misunderstood the defendant's behaviour," the psychologist stated in court. The rape of the second girl, which was also included in the indictment, could not be proven beyond doubt according to the verdict.
"This is not a one-off incident," the judge emphasised
When considering the sentence, Judge Jirsa rejected the argument that the first acts were many years old. "The time gap loses its significance, as the defendant later engaged in similar sexually motivated conduct towards another underage person. This is therefore not a one-off incident after which the perpetrator would have led a long-term blameless life, but a repetition of similar types of unlawful conduct," Jirsa stated.
The judgment has not yet become final. Following an appeal, the case will be heard by the Supreme Court in Olomouc.
Source: Novinky.cz