The Brabant Criminal Court on Wednesday upheld a 40-month prison sentence that had been imposed in absentia in June on Patrick D., a homeless man born in 1971.
The defendant was prosecuted for biting a man's middle finger during a fight in Wavre, Walloon Brabant, in 2023, causing the victim to lose the use of his finger.
The defendant, nicknamed ‘Cannibal’ by some of his peers, had already bitten off a thumb and the lobe of an ear from other people in the past.
The police learned of the facts during telephone wiretaps, when they heard a conversation in which Patrick D. told his interlocutor, laughing, that he had "eaten someone's finger again" a few days earlier.
Investigators carried out checks in hospitals and identified the victim, who had lost the use of his middle finger. He had indeed been bitten by the defendant during a fight between marginalised individuals on 15 November 2023 in Wavre.
This was not the defendant's first offence: he had already been prosecuted in the past for tearing off the earlobe of another victim in Mont-Saint-Guibert and a thumb in Court-Saint-Etienne.
When questioned by the police, 'Cannibal' confessed to the incident in Wavre, stating that he was proud to have left his mark. However, during his appeal hearing, he retracted that statement and claimed that the bite was accidental, occurring while he was convulsing after being thrown to the ground.
The public prosecutor, who did not believe the new explanation, said he was particularly concerned about the defendant's personality and specific background.
The judgment handed down on Wednesday, which upholds the 40-month prison sentence imposed in absentia and a fine of €1,600, was in line with the prosecution's request.
