A 36-year-old man from Anderlecht was sentenced on Friday to six years in prison by the Brussels Criminal Court for raping and abusing a transgender escort for hours.
The victim was only able to escape via the balcony in the early hours of the morning, after which the police were called. According to the man, who is in his thirties, the escort tried to extort money from him and there was never any sexual contact.
The man in his thirties had ordered an escort on 19 November 2023. The next morning, neighbours called the police because the woman had fled almost naked from the man's flat via the balcony. The two protagonists made diametrically opposed statements about what had happened between the two moments.
"The victim stated that she had been booked by the man for three hours and that he was well aware that she was a transgender woman," the prosecution said.
After an hour, she wanted to leave and offered to pay him back, but the man locked the door and took her mobile phone. She then stayed for two more hours, but then he offered her £300 to stay for two more hours.
When she refused, he threatened her with two knives, forced her to take drugs and raped her several times.
According to the victim, after each sexual encounter, she had to wash herself thoroughly, including her private parts, and she also had to endure constant beatings. It was only in the morning that she managed to escape via the balcony.
According to the prosecution, several elements confirmed the escort's version of events: "Her body showed injuries clearly caused by an assault."
"She was also able to describe in detail the knives the man had used to threaten her, as well as the towels he had used to clean himself. In his flat, we also found traces of drugs almost everywhere, and a hair analysis showed that he had been using cocaine intensively and daily during this period," it added.
Neighbours had also made a video showing the man in his thirties hitting the escort, and a forensic psychologist had identified personality problems and narcissistic traits in the man, who already has a long criminal record.
According to the man in his thirties, no sexual contact had taken place and the escort had tried to extort money from him. The defence also pointed out that no trace of the man's DNA had been found on the woman.
"However, the victim initially claimed to have been raped 20 times, before reducing this figure to 10 times later on. How can these two versions be reconciled? No other injuries indicating rape were identified, and the neighbours did not hear anything suspicious throughout the night."
According to the defence, the injuries identified were the result of mutual blows. A community service sentence was requested.
However, the court was not convinced by the defence's arguments and sentenced the man, who was in his thirties, to six years in prison. The prosecution then requested the man's immediate arrest, but the court did not grant this request.
