In August of 2022, a 14-year-old girl with the assumed name of Zoé was on the Rapido ride at Aqualibi in Wavre. She was followed too closely by two young people, and one of them, wearing blue underpants, touched her inappropriately. René was later identified as the perpetrator following the surveillance cameras were viewed. Zoé reported the incident to the ride attendant and police officers, stating that René had even tried to get her to go with him when they reached the bottom of the ride. René claimed that any contact with Zoé was accidental and that he did not intend to hurt her, but the prosecution did not believe him. They charged him with preventing a non-consensual sexual act on a minor. Zoé’s father demanded justice for his daughter, stating that it was an organized hunt, and he was granted double non-pecuniary damages of €3,750 for his daughter and himself. The court ultimately sentenced René to one year in prison and deprived him of his civil and political rights for five years.
On August 3, 2022, Zoé (assumed name), 14, is in the Rapido, this attraction of Aqualibi, in Wavre, which carries young people (especially) in a whirlwind of waves.
But the young girl is going to be followed (too) closely by two young people, one of whom, wearing blue underpants, is going to be very tactile. She indeed felt a hand which, sometimes went up her leg from the foot to the thigh via the calf, sometimes went down from the neck to the chest.
René (loan) will be identified following viewing the images from the Rapido surveillance cameras.
“I was embarrassedshe will say to the person in charge of the attraction and to the police officers. He stuck me on it then, when we found ourselves at the foot of the Rapido, he nodded to me which I interpreted as being “Come with us”. I said no.”
René was absent at the correctional hearing in Nivelles on March 1, where the prosecution had charged him with the prevention of a non-consensual sexual act on a minor.
To the police, he had declared that he was aware of having been very close to the young girl. “I may have touched her, but I didn’t mean to hurt her. It was purely accidental.”
The prosecution disagreed. “Accidental? I don’t believe a word of it. CCTV footage shows him with his hand clearly resting on his hips.
A sentence of twenty months in prison was required before Zoé’s father showed his wrath. “It was an organized hunt. We see him following my daughter from attraction to attraction. It is time for Belgian justice to protect our children.” He claimed double non-pecuniary damage of €3,750 for his daughter and for himself.
Granted, decreed the court which imposed on the defendant a one-year prison sentence and deprived him of his civil and political rights for five years.
The case of Zoé and René is a shocking reminder of the vulnerability of children, even in supposedly safe places such as amusement parks. It also highlights the importance of taking such cases seriously and holding perpetrators accountable for their actions. Zoé’s father’s statement regarding the need for Belgian justice to protect children is a sentiment shared by many around the world, and we can only hope that this case will serve as a wake-up call to those in positions of power to take concrete steps towards that goal. May Zoé and her family find some measure of peace and closure in the followingmath of this traumatic experience.
