The Permanent Criminal Court of Nicosia sentenced today, 19.10.2021, a 31-year-old man who pleaded guilty to twenty counts of Child Sexual Abuse, Child Sexual Exploitation and Child Pornography and twelve counts of Common Attack.
The offenses of sexual abuse were directed against the wives of his wife, aged 10-13 at the time of the offenses, and aged 11-14 at the time of the offenses. The offenses of the joint attack were directed against his wife's three daughters.
The prosecution in other charges that the defendant was also facing was suspended by the Attorney General with the change of the defendant's response to admission to the above mentioned charges after the beginning of the hearing and more specifically the completion of the police officer's testimony.
According to the facts brought before the Court, the three minor girls as well as a minor boy are children of divorced parents. The parents of the above divorced in 2013 and the children lived with their mother. At a later stage, the mother of the minors met the accused and after establishing a bond with him, he, in 2017, moved to her home, where her children also lived together.
In February 2020, a report was received to the Police from the High School where the minor was attending that she reported to her teacher that she was receiving physical violence from her mother, but also from the accused, her mother's partner. In addition, the minor stated that she was a victim of sexual abuse by the accused.
Members of the Police immediately undertook the investigation of the case and a Family Counselor from the Children's Home went to the school of the minor, where in a meeting he had with the minor, the latter stated that the accused was touching her in sensitive places.
She also stated that both she and her siblings were physically abused by their mother and the accused. He was then taken from the juvenile videotaped testimony in which he stated that since 2017, when the accused now lived in the same house with them, as their mother's partner, in various cases, he participated in sexual acts with the minor. The specific behavior of the accused took place in various rooms of the house and although the minor tried to talk to her mother about what was happening, she did not find a response.
The accused's abusive behavior towards the minor started in January 2017 when she was 10 years old and ended in February 2020, when the complaint was made and since the minor was now 13 years old. When the accused committed these acts against her, he did not say anything to her and she tried to repel him but he did not succeed.
During the same period, ie between January 2017 and February 2020, in several cases, the accused attacked the minor, hitting her with his hands on various parts of her body. The accused was arrested on 26.2.2020 for the above offenses and after drawing his attention to the Law, he replied "I did nothing".
In the course of the investigation, videotaped testimonies were also taken from the underage sisters, from the contents of which it emerged that they were also victims of the abusive behavior of the accused. The second sister during the period between January 2017 when she was 11 years old and until February 2020 when the minor was 14 years old, was a victim of sexual abuse by the accused.
Specifically, the accused, in different cases during the above period, participated in sexual acts with her. During the same period, the accused systematically beat the minor in various parts of her body. The accused also used physical violence against the third minor, from whom a photocopied testimony was also taken. In her testimony, the minor stated that between January 2017 and February 2020, in different cases, the accused attacked her, hitting her with his hand on various parts of her body.
The accused was re-arrested by the Police on 4.3.2020 for the crimes he committed against all three minor brothers and after he was drawn to the Law he replied "what I have to say I will say in Court". He gave the same answer to the questions that were asked to him during the receipt of his investigative testimony. The minors were referred for psychological evaluation by Clinical Psychologists of the Child's Home. According to the evaluations, the two sisters present various problems, while the touches from the accused have caused them mental distress, as a result of which a recommendation for their individual treatment with a psychologist has been made.
The third sister had psycho-emotional and behavioral difficulties that may have been related to the incidents of psychological and physical abuse she had experienced. When imposing a sentence, the Criminal Court first emphasized the seriousness of the offenses, which arises both from their nature and from the sentence provided by law. He further pointed out that the mere fact that such crimes are against morals but at the same time insult and degrade the personality of the victims, make them extremely serious, urging the imposition of deterrent sentences.
Following reference to the relevant case law of the Supreme Court, the Criminal Court examined the facts of the present case and found that it falls into the category of contact by touching the victim's body, without having contact on a naked spot.
However, referring to the circumstances of the present case, emphasis was placed on the fact that the accused did not respect the two minor complainants, nor did he control his sexual desires, sexually abusing them on ten consecutive dates in various rooms of their house. This repeated illegal behavior, which lasted for an extended period of time, ie from January 2017 to February 2020, and at a time when the victims were less than 13 years old, is an element that gives particular seriousness to the present case.
Finally, according to the Court, the fact that the accused's actions were directed against his wife's children, to whom he had a paternal position, is, on the basis of an aggravating factor and consequently an element which is included in the measurement of the sentence.
So, instead of receiving care and support from the accused, the two complainants were forced to suffer the unacceptable actions of the accused and the disastrous results they brought to their psychic world. It is apathy and disgust that are caused by the actions of the accused. It was also deemed unjustified and unacceptable for the accused to repeatedly attack his wife's three minor daughters, even if they intended to coerce them into disobedient behavior.
The Court pointed out that in a modern society such acts have no place, nor can they be tolerated and should be treated accordingly. For the benefit of the accused, his white criminal record was taken into account as well as his remorse, as expressed by his lawyer and as inferred from his confession to the Court.
Referring to case law, the Criminal Court stressed that in cases such as the present, the element of admission is reflected in the sentence if the victim does not need to relive the traumatic events, giving evidence to prove the offenses.
For the purpose of mitigating the sentence, the Criminal Court also took into account the personal and family circumstances of the accused.
In the categories no. 1-3, 7-9, 13-15, 19, 25-27, 31-33, 37-39 and 43 were sentenced to 5 years in prison in each category, while in categories no. 21-24 and 45-52 were sentenced to 6 months imprisonment in each category.
It was ordered that the imposed prison sentences be met.
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