A high-level EU official was convicted and sentenced to a four-years suspended prison sentence for the rape of a colleague 20 years younger than him by the Court in Mons on September 12.
The EU official in question is Margus Rahuoja who used to be a director at the Commission's DG Mobility and Transport in 2015 when events occurred.
Rahuoja was initially sentenced by the Court in Brussels. A judge at the court, Luc Hennart, told AFP in 2019 that the defendant had organised a party "to thank employees and celebrate the birth of his daughter," but things "evolved, it degenerated."
The defendant insisted that their relationship was consensual, but "after looking at all the facts, the court concluded there had been no consent," said Hennart.
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The court laid emphasis on the fact that the accuser was 20 years younger than Rahuoja and under his supervision at the time, which the court recognised as aggravating.
Along with the four-year sentence, Rahuoja was mandated to pay the victim over €30,000 in compensation. He had his civil rights revoked for five years, including the right to vote.
Rahuoja appealed the verdict but was sentenced to six years in prison. However, he was appealed the verdict until the case was retried at the criminal court in Mons, which has now given him a four-year suspended sentence.
Getting off easy
The Commission dismissed Rahuoja from his duties, but he allegedly continued to receive a €14,000 net monthly salary throughout the legal proceedings, which have been ongoing since 2015.
It "is the equivalent to long paid leave... He will not even have spent an hour behind bars" Jean Quatremer commented in Libération.
It remains unclear if the Commission will now take away his pension.
