A man from Wevelgem was on Tuesday sentenced to two years in prison for raping his ex-partner. The couple had broken up but were still living together.
The man himself admitted the facts in a message to the woman: "Yes I am a rapist, I must be punished." He later denied the facts during his interrogation.
The man is no stranger to justice. He was previously convicted of arson, stalking and theft by breaking and entering. To these is now added rape.
On 5 June last year, the victim reported him to the police. After two years, the relationship between the accused and the victim had ended, but they were still living together.
On 2 June, she was repeatedly harassed and groped by the accused while she was sitting in the sofa. She decided to go to sleep, but he followed her to the bedroom. He crawled into bed with her, started groping her again and raped her.
"My client was in pain and shouted ‘no’ several times, but he continued," said the victim’s lawyer. "The day after the facts, he himself confirmed in a message that he raped her and said he should be punished, but later in his interrogation he denied it."
According to the defendant’s lawyer, things were not as black and white as the prosecutor claimed and the two had a turbulent relationship. "A few days before, they did have sex with mutual consent," he said.
The Kortrijk Criminal Court ruled on Tuesday that it did constitute rape and sentenced the man to two years in prison. He will also be disqualified for five years and must pay provisional damages to the victim.
