A 47-year-old man from Theux appeared on Tuesday before the Verviers Magistrates' Court on charges of rape, incitement to debauchery, voyeurism and possession of images of abuse of a 12-year-old child, the daughter of a former partner.
He risks an eight-year jail term while the prosecution has requested a five-year prison sentence for his current partner, who is accused of turning a blind eye to the abuse and filming some of the scenes.
The child’s mother had filed a complaint after discovering sexual messages sent by the defendant, in whom she had retained complete trust even after their break-up.
During the investigation, a video showing the child in her knickers and the defendant playing with a bottle as if it were a penis was found. “I held the bottle out towards her buttocks, but didn’t insert it,” said the accused, who was in custody. He said he had made “a little slip" and would never forgive himself.
While the man denied raping or touching her, the young victim, whose account was deemed credible, said she was raped several times.
The detainee’s partner, who is also on remand, is alleged to have filmed the bottle scene and another of the little girl taking her bath.
The public prosecutor, who described the man as a predator and a paedophile, considered his explanations meaningless and unbearable. He called for an eight-year prison term for the man and a five-year term for his companion.
Judgement is on 15 September.
