Sordid case dealt with by the Dinant criminal court, this Wednesday morning. A 27-year-old young man is being prosecuted for the rape of his stepdaughter, aged eight at the time, between January and March 2021 in Doische. Facts like this, the court unfortunately hears too often. But in this file, the consequences are even more horrible. The eight-year-old girl became pregnant. “We have been notified of this pregnancy”specifies the parquet floor of Namur. “Further medical examinations made it possible to date the pregnancy at eight weeks. It was decided to carry out a voluntary therapeutic termination of pregnancy because, given her age, she might not have carried it to term without putting her own life in danger.”
During the investigation, the young girl never wanted to communicate the identity of the father. “She first said he was a 16-year-old friend. The stepfather was in the crosshairs of the investigators. He was one of the few people around the girl who might have committed the facts. “We did DNA analysis of the embryos. They matched the stepfather’s DNA.”
The man was placed under arrest warrant in September 2021. This Wednesday morning, before the Dinant criminal court, he admitted the sexual relationship he had with his stepdaughter, which he justifies by the behavior of the latter and alcohol consumption “It was the first time I drank, I mightn’t control myself”, specifies the interested party of Syrian origin. Faced with the president who questions him regarding what he pushed to take action, the defendant explains that his stepdaughter was asking for a sexual relationship. “She’s eight but she’s older than that in her head. She came on my lap and gave me kisses and then asked me regarding this relationship.”
The prosecution required ten years firm. The defense argued for the broadest possible simple reprieve and highlighted the life course of its client, who arrived in Belgium in 2019. “In his country, young girls can marry at 13. Following the facts committed, there was an awareness. He wants to adapt to our laws and live in the Belgian way.” Judgment July 13.