Rape trial in Luxembourg: uncle denies niece's allegations, 8 years sought
A 51-year-old man appears before the 12th criminal chamber of Luxembourg, accused of rape and indecent assault against his niece between the ages of 13 and 15. The prosecution seeks 8 years in prison; the verdict is expected on 29 October.
A 51-year-old man facing rape accusations from his niece before Luxembourg's courts
According to Le Quotidien, it was in December 2021 that a young woman, Sabrina, filed a complaint against her uncle Mario with Luxembourg's police. The trigger: seeing her own daughter sitting on this man's lap. That gesture was enough for everything to resurface. Sabrina says she remained silent for about ten years out of fear of not being believed by those close to her. "I was ashamed, my family knew me as a warrior. (…) I had just called my mother to ask her to get me out of there."
The alleged facts: two weeks under the same roof
Mario, 51, does not understand why his niece, now 31 years old, is accusing him of rape and indecent assault committed when she was between 13 and 15 years old. At the time, the young woman had stayed for two weeks at her grandparents' home, in the same residence as her uncle. According to the prosecution, Mario allegedly committed touching on two occasions and penetrated her on two occasions as well. Sabrina can no longer place the facts with absolute precision in time.
At the bar of the 12th criminal chamber of Luxembourg's district court, the defendant contests the accusations entirely. "I did nothing," he states. He will say no more.
The defence pleads acquittal for lack of evidence
His lawyer, Me Kreutz, argues for his client's acquittal. He invokes the absence of "objective contemporary elements" of the alleged facts and the "deterioration of evidence" over the years. Sabrina's credibility is further undermined by the defence: the young woman failed to submit to a credibility assessment, an examination that is nonetheless decisive in this type of case.
Me Kreutz relies on this gap: "Mario has never committed any sexual assault in his entire life." The psychiatric assessment of the defendant furthermore revealed no paedophilic tendencies or sexual deviation. The lawyer also emphasises that the absence of assessment deprives the criminal chamber of an investigative element that could have helped it evaluate "the disputed statements". He denounces a violation of the rights of the defence, which is unable to take a position against accusations imprecise in time. He asks the court to give his client the benefit of the doubt.
The prosecution convinced of the defendant's guilt
The representative of the public prosecution is of a different opinion. "The truth is verified by the case file," she states. According to her, "Sabrina's account remained consistent" throughout the investigation, and her statements are coherent with the confidences made to a life coach before filing the complaint. The prosecutor considers the defendant guilty of the charges against him, with the aggravating circumstance of being the victim's uncle. She seeks a sentence of 8 years' imprisonment. "He took her innocence," she says, and he shows no sincere remorse.
Sabrina also accuses Mario of having committed sexual abuse against his own daughter. The latter, however, did not wish to incriminate her father, despite confidences shared with her psychiatrist, according to the police investigator and the prosecutor.
Sabrina's testimony
The young woman described the circumstances of the facts before the criminal chamber. The first time, "my uncle took advantage of me being alone with him in the kitchen. He came from behind and rubbed against me before touching my chest and between my legs over my clothes. (…) I wanted to defend myself, but I was paralysed." For the rapes, "he pushed me into his bedroom, onto the bed, and undressed me…" while holding her wrists. "I didn't have the strength to free myself. I wanted to scream, but nothing came out."
When asked by the president of the criminal chamber about the reasons why she had "gone back" to her uncle, Sabrina replied: "I thought my uncle had a conscience, that he would realise that what he had done was not right and that he wouldn't do it again."
The verdict is scheduled for 29 October.
Source: Le Quotidien