A resident of Grâce-Hollogne was sentenced on Friday by the Liège magistrates court to 5 years' imprisonment suspended on probation for a quarter after molesting teenage girls. The defendant was a repeat offender.
The defendant had met a young girl on Facebook and invited her and a friend to his home on 14 April 2018. The accused and the girls, aged 15 and 17 with learning disabilities, were listening to music and laughing together when he forced himself on them.
After gaining their trust by pretending to be the cousin of the father of one of the victims, the defendant tried to undress his two guests. He threatened to kill them. One of them was tied to a chair before being fondled.
Subsequently, a friend of the defendant's goddaughter reported him, claiming to have been touched in February 2022. The court highlighted the defendant's sexual opportunism, his need to be within close proximity to minors and his internet searches on incest.
The facts of the assault were established by the court and the defendant was sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment suspended for a quarter.
