A 33-year-old police officer from Merksem was given a two-year suspended prison sentence on Friday for raping a woman he met on the Tinder app.
The man consistently denied the facts and the prosecution asked for his acquittal. However, the court found that there was sufficient evidence.
The defendant and the victim met at the former’s home in October 2021, after exchanging a few messages earlier in the day on the app. Despite a few sexual innuendos, the victim had clearly indicated that she simply wanted to have a good evening, without any sexual relationship.
Their versions of the meeting differed. The victim claimed to have been handcuffed and forcibly penetrated despite having repeatedly indicated that she did not want this. The police officer denied raping the victim and claimed that her protests were part of a sado-masochistic game.
The public prosecutor considered that it was a case of one person's word against the other’s and asked for an acquittal. The court disagreed, however, pointing out that the content of the messages did not prevail over the lack of consent at the time of the events.
It therefore sentenced the defendant to a two-year suspended prison sentence and ordered him to pay €3,000 in compensation to the victim.
