The Charleroi criminal court handed down a 40-month prison sentence on Friday morning, suspended for five years, against a father for sexually violating his daughter, who was a minor at the time of the offences.
However, the suspect was acquitted on the benefit of the doubt for a rape charge for which he was also facing trial. The man had previously been sentenced in absentia to seven years' imprisonment for the same offences, but lodged an objection to the judgment.
In 2017, the president of a local club frequented by the accused and his daughter had denounced the sexual assaults suffered by the child. The young girl claimed to have been raped on several occasions by her father between the ages of 14 and 16. Sentenced in absentia to seven years' imprisonment for these rapes and attacks on sexual integrity, the father lodged an objection to the judgment and denied all the charges.
In particular, the man had told the police and the examining magistrate that he had been "sleeping in the same bed as his daughter for two years." He also admitted to crimes that took place in 2014.
The prosecution requested a reduced sentence and a suspended sentence, given the defendant's lack of previous criminal record. The defence pleaded for acquittal.
