The Kortrijk Correctional Court has sentenced a man to three years in prison, suspended, for sexually assaulting a woman with a mental disability.
The man worked as a volunteer for a non-profit organisation supporting adults with mental disabilities. He used a van to pick up clients.
Between January and November 2023, he repeatedly abused his position to assault one of the clients. He would drive her to remote locations where he committed the assaults.
To prevent others from witnessing the acts, he covered the van’s windows with cardboard. He also instructed the victim to keep the abuse secret.
During the trial, the man claimed his Parkinson’s disease caused a lack of impulse control. The judge rejected this defence.
The court convicted him of sexual assault but ruled that the charge of rape was not substantiated.
In addition to the suspended prison sentence, the man was stripped of certain civil rights for five years. He is prohibited from volunteering with vulnerable people for ten years and banned from any contact with the victim.
The court also ordered him to pay compensation to the victim and the non-profit organisation.
