An employee of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at ULiège was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday for raping a 23-year-old student.
The Court of Appeal in Liège found that the defendant, a man in his sixties, forced the young woman to have sex whilst she was drunk and unable to give her consent.
The incident took place on 19 November 2021 during a party attended by students and staff from ULiège at the Country Hall in Sart-Tilman. The defendant, then aged 55, had taken advantage of the young woman’s intoxicated state to lure her away and force her to have sex.
The young woman, who had a high blood alcohol level, was found by her friends with her trousers down and unable to get dressed. The final-year veterinary medicine student claimed she had been raped by the employee, who worked in the animal post-mortem room at ULiège.
The defendant denied that the act was forced. He claimed that it was the young woman who had lured him away and had solicited sexual intercourse.
The defence had sought an acquittal, as had been previously granted in an initial ruling.
However, the Court of Appeal in Liège overturned the decision. The university employee was sentenced to five years in prison. His immediate arrest was ordered.
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