Constitutional Court rejects complaint from Plzeň schoolboy regarding discontinuation of case involving abuse by father
The Constitutional Court has rejected a complaint filed by a minor boy from Plzeň, whose sexual abuse case police discontinued. The father was ultimately found not guilty.
Plzeň schoolboy unsuccessful at Constitutional Court: abuse case by father archived
According to plzensky.denik.cz, a minor schoolboy from Plzeň, who was not yet 15 years old, approached the Constitutional Court. Through his legal representative, he complained about the discontinuation of criminal proceedings in which his own father was investigated as a suspect for sexual abuse. The Constitutional Court rejected the complaint as entirely without merit.
Case discontinued by police and state prosecutor's office
In her decision, Daniela Zemanová, the presiding judge of the Constitutional Court panel, stated that the police discontinued the criminal case after investigation failed to demonstrate that a criminal offence had occurred at all. "The investigation revealed that the act in question did not occur and that on the part of the minor (approximately nine years old) it was probably a misunderstanding and information misinterpreted by his mother regarding the treatment of nappy rash," Zemanová quoted from the decision.
The original suspicion arose from statements made by the boy's mother and grandmother, to whom the child allegedly confided on various occasions that his father did unpleasant things to him — touched his chest, "nibbled" his ear, "touched his bottom" and walked around the flat naked.
What the schoolboy himself said during questioning
During questioning with the help of anatomical dolls, the schoolboy himself described how his father repeatedly ran his finger along the edge of his anal opening. The father also allegedly stroked him on the chest and sucked on his earlobes. At the same time, the boy denied that he had nappy rash requiring cream treatment, and stated that his father did not walk around the flat naked.
The suspect father denied all accusations. He admitted only that he applied cream for nappy rash to his son's groin area and the area around the anal opening, and that the boy never complained. An expert opinion in sexology ruled out sexual deviation in the father.
Unreliable environment in mother's household
Investigation at the mother's residence revealed serious problems in the household, as the boy's mother excessively consumes alcohol, resulting in escalated situations. The District State Prosecutor's Office in Plzeň-město rejected the boy's complaint on the grounds that the conclusion concerning the commission of a criminal offence did not follow even from the child's own testimony. It emphasised that the boy likes his father, wishes to spend time with him, and is not afraid of him, and that no concrete motive was identified, nor were symptoms of secondary trauma found in the boy.
The office also concluded that the statements of the mother and grandmother were highly unreliable given the problematic environment at the mother's home, which involved admitted withholding of information and lying.
The Regional State Prosecutor's Office in Plzeň subsequently also discontinued the boy's petition for supervision of the father as unfounded. It found the boy's statements inconsistent and noted that he himself admitted that he sometimes lies, even about matters of fundamental importance. The expert opinion further revealed greater suggestibility in the boy and low self-esteem.
Constitutional complaint and its rejection
The boy, through his appointed representative, filed a constitutional complaint in which he pointed out that the bodies involved in criminal proceedings had not properly taken into account the expert opinion confirming his credibility and ability to reproduce events. The complaint further alleged that the police deliberately failed to question a schoolmate to whom the boy allegedly spontaneously confided about the abuse. He further identified as a failing the uncritical acceptance of the expert's conclusion that the father does not suffer from sexual deviation — arguing that this conclusion is irrelevant to the subject matter of the investigation. The representative also argued that the state failed to fulfil its positive obligation to ensure effective investigation as required by the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
The Constitutional Court rejected all these objections. "What is material for the matter at hand is that from direct evidence — the complainant's repeated statements — it was not possible to infer that any criminal offence had been committed," stated Judge Zemanová.
Boy entrusted to father's care
In parallel with the criminal proceedings, a petition was filed in court for institutional education of the boy. These proceedings were halted after the boy was entrusted to the care of his father — the man whom he had originally accused himself.
Source: Google News CZ — Crime (cs)