The Liège Court of Appeal on Tuesday sentenced a 27-year-old Liège resident to five years in prison, two of which are to be served, for the rape and kidnapping of a 17-year-old girl.
The events took place on the night of 2 July 2022, in Awans. After a night out at a nightclub, the defendant and the young woman arranged to meet in a public square to flirt in the defendant’s van. But after locking the doors, the defendant raped the victim.
She described being forced into sexual intercourse after being threatened with a screwdriver.
In the initial trial, the defendant denied the charges, attributing the victim’s injuries to "clumsy" intercourse. He also claimed that the victim had asked him for money after the encounter and had reported the crime after his refusal, out of revenge.
Before the Court of Appeal, he changed his story and made a full confession. The court sentenced him to five years in prison, with three-fifths of the sentence suspended, meaning he will spend two years in jail.
