A man in his forties from the Belgian province of Limburg was sentenced on Tuesday to 5 years in prison, suspended except for the time already served in pre-trial detention, for raping and sexually assaulting his nine-year-old daughter.
He was also stripped of his civil rights for five years and placed under the supervision of the sentencing enforcement court for the same period.
The offences date to 31 December 2023.
He told the court he had been highly intoxicated at the time and did not clearly remember events, adding that his daughter would never have invented such an allegation.
The victim described what happened during an interview and again at a care centre. DNA belonging to the defendant was found on the child's underwear.
The father is a repeat offender, having received a suspended one-year sentence in 2022 for possessing images of children subjected to sexual violence.
Alongside five years of supervision, he must undergo treatment for sexual disorders and alcohol abuse, find a job or useful activity, and pay €5,000 in damages to the victim's mother and €1,476 in legal costs.
