A man from Charleroi has been given a 10-year prison sentence after being found guilty of sexually abusing his minor nephew and spying on his older sister.
The Charleroi Criminal Court passed the sentence on Monday afternoon, following charges of rape, sexual assault against a minor, possession of child pornography, and voyeurism.
The accused had admitted to the voyeurism, and claimed that his relations with his nephew were “consensual”.
In January 2022, the victim’s aunt was told about the abuse by the victim’s brother. He revealed his younger brother’s allegations of rape committed by his uncle from the age of 5 until he was 15.
The brother had discovered a 45-minute video documenting one of the rapes on a USB stick plugged into the TV at the accused’s house. According to the victim, between 30 and 50 instances of abuse occurred.
The uncle had claimed there was “only one consensual sexual encounter”, asserting that the victim had initiated the contact to show him homosexual practices. “At the start, it was consensual, but then it’s true he asked me to stop, which I didn’t,” the uncle said. The investigation also unearthed two videos of the accused’s older sister, filmed unknowingly in the bathroom, and files of child pornography on his computer.
The prosecution had initially requested an 8-year sentence. The defence had argued for a suspended sentence on probation.
