A man in his thirties from Geraardsbergen has been sentenced by the Brussels Correctional Court to a suspended prison sentence of three years for having sexually assaulted an autistic girl in an institution in Galmaarden.
According to the court, it had been proven that he had groped the girl’s breasts, even though the young man insisted that he had only wanted to tickle her stomach and had no sexual intentions.
The girl stayed at the institution in Galmaarden during the week, but when her mother came to pick her up in February 2021, she complained about the behaviour of a supervisor. According to the girl, he had touched her inappropriately in her bed that evening.
"Camera footage showed that the man had indeed entered the girl’s room that evening, twice in fact," said the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
"In her audio-visual interrogation, she also stated that he had gone under her sheets and under her T-shirt, and had touched her breasts there. Experts consider this interrogation to be consistent and credible. Given her limitations, the girl does not have the ability to make something like this up."
According to the Public Prosecutor, the interrogations of the thirty-something were full of contradictions, he changed his version several times and many questions remained unanswered.
"These facts are blown up into something they are not," came the defence’s response. "My client worked as a night supervisor in that institution, but had no training in dealing with people with such disabilities. He tried to tickle her in an attempt to make contact. At most, he can be criticised for having misjudged how he should and could interact with her."
The court ruled that the sexual assault had indeed been proven and sentenced the man to a three-year suspended prison sentence.
