What was heard recently in Court in Cyprus is terrifying and disgusting.
According to the facts of the case, the convict was beating his partner, while at the same time sexually abusing her daughter.
The Criminal Court found him guilty and subsequently sentenced him to life in prison, the oldest of which was the 13-year-old who was charged with rape and sexual abuse of a child.
More specifically, he faced the following charges in court:
17 accusations of rape, in violation of Articles 144 and 145 of the Penal Code, Chapter 154 (categories 1-15, 48 and 49)
4 charges of corruption of a young woman under the age of 13, in violation of Article 153 (1) of the Penal Code, Chapter 154 (categories 16-18, 50 and 51)
11 charges of corruption of a young woman aged 13 and under 17, in violation of Article 154 of Chapter 154 (categories 19-30)
14 charges of child sexual abuse, in violation of Articles 2, 3, 4, 10 and 17 of the Anti-Trafficking and Exploitation of Persons Act and the Protection of Victims of the Law of 2007 (Law 87 (I) / 2007) (categories 31 , 32-43, 52 and 53)
4 charges of child sexual abuse, in violation of Article 6 (4) of Part II of the 2014 Convention on the Prevention and Control of Sexual Abuse, Sexual Exploitation of Children and Child Legal Pornography (N 91 (I) / 14) ( categories 44-47).
However, the convict appealed against the credibility of the witnesses, as well as the fact that the court did not prove the charges of rape, while he said that there was an omission of the court of first instance to take into account the essential contradictions of the testimony of the complainant.
The facts
As it was heard in the Court, the events of the case took place in 2011 and lasted for about 4 years.
According to the complainant, the convict sexually abused her from the age of about 12, and continued to have illicit intercourse with her until May 2015, when the complainant was 16 years old.
She complained that she did not react to sexual intercourse because she feared the convict who had threatened to kill or harm her mother, her brother and her family if she said anything to her mother or anyone else.
In fact, in order for the convict to prove that he meant his threats, which the complainant initially did not believe, in some cases she went to her mother's workplace, quarreled with her, hit her, injured her and threatened her with a knife, which is why which her mother reported to the police.
The appeal is empty
The Supreme Court, after an examination, rejected the appeal of the convict, stating that the assessment of the testimony of the complainant was made in the correct context by the court of first instance.
The decision of the Supreme Court emphasizes that: “The reasons for which the Court of Appeals intervenes in the credibility findings of the court of first instance are legally grounded. In this case, there is no reason for the Court of Appeals to intervene in the first instance findings of credibility. The trial court took into account all the relevant factors and took into account the whole of the testimony before it, including the aforementioned voluntary testimony of the appellant in which he admits sexual intercourse with the minor complaining 8-9 times. "
At the same time, she states that "the Court has rightly concluded, in our view, that the applicant was a very reliable witness to which the trial court could rely, without any reinforcement of her testimony, as a result of the quality of her testimony. and after a relevant self-warning, which was made by the court of first instance ".
In conclusion, in its decision, the Supreme Court notes that, in our judgment, it has been proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the appellant committed more than 15 rapes against the applicant during the period in question and in the manner mentioned above. Therefore, all 15 charges were proven. Consequently, the appeal is rejected, he concludes.
Source: Offsite