A trial is currently underway in Belgium for two young men of Turkish origin appeared in court for the gang rape of a 14-year-old girl, with a verdict expected on Oct. 16.
“If you ever have a child, I sincerely hope it is a girl, and I hope you go through what I went through. I wish it on you,” the mother of the 14-year-old girl said to two of the three suspected gang rapists of her daughter during a trial in Hasselt court.
The defense responded the rape as “a youthful sin” in response.
A third suspect, who also participated in the rape of the minor, has already been found guilty by a juvenile court. The other two suspects deny that they committed rape, according to Het Belang van Limburg.
The case date from January 2016 and took place in Lommel in the Belgian province of Limburg.
The 14-year-old victim had walked into a kebab shop with a friend when they were approached by a group of young men of Turkish origin. They offered the two young girls a ride home, and convinced one of the 14-year-old girls to come with them.
In the car ride, the men began inappropriately touching her, but were speaking Turkish so that the girl was unable to understand them.
Once they arrived in the woods, the rape began.
“They stripped her, stomped her and hit her. One of the suspects, weighing 118 kilograms, even laid on her to keep her under control. The other held her feet while she was raped by a third. My client had nowhere to go. Afterwards they dumped the girls at a bus stop,” said the victim’s lawyer.
The suspects deny that they raped the girl.
“I did not touch her with my hands even though she gave me oral pleasure,” said one of the suspects. “I was young and stupid. It was not wanted? She even afterwards if we could sleep with them. I myself have a sister of that age and would never do something like that. ”
The prosecutor in the case, however, says the guilt of all the three suspects is clear.
“Now they stand sheepishly here and say they are ashamed,” said the prosecutor. “Already in the car they could not keep their hands to themselves, and then they drive to the end of the world. That night, the suspects took advantage of girls in a vulnerable situation. Under duress and accompanied by three young men, they took her to a remote place. It is very clear that this is a gang rape. I am demanding 34 months in prison for both of them.”
Gang rape is a major problem in Belgium. Every week, four gang rapes are reported in the country, and authorities believe that many cases also go unreported. No study has been conducted on the ethic background of sexual assault perpetrators in Belgium, but in Sweden, the crime is mostly tied to foreigners.
“In 2018, Swedish newspaper Expressen reported on this growing trend in Sweden. After an investigation into the court cases involving gang rape over the previous two years, the paper found that there were 43 men convicted of the offense. The paper also determined that of the 40 out of the 43 men with gang rape convictions, they were either immigrants who were born abroad or born in Sweden to immigrant parents.
Another investigation also found that since July 2012, there were 112 men and boys convicted for gang rape. Of those, 82 were born outside of Europe. The median age of victims was only 15, while seven out of ten perpetrators were between 15 and 20.”
As of 2015, Belgium had the third highest incidence of violent sexual assaults per 100,000 people, behind Sweden.
