published
District Court of ZurichFour years in prison for rape and strangulation
A man brutally raped and choked his girlfriend when he discovered she was a sex worker.
A man who is said to have raped his girlfriend out of revenge is standing before the Zurich District Court.
20min/hoh
The district court sentenced him to four years in prison.
20min/hoh
-
A 34-year-old German is said to have raped his girlfriend in 2016.
-
According to the indictment, it was revenge because the then 20-year-old is said to have worked as a “sugar babe”.
-
The prosecutor demands three years, the defense an acquittal.
-
The district court sentenced him to an unconditional four-year prison term.
A 34-year-old German from the Zurich Oberland was accused of brutally raping his then-girlfriend in the summer of 2016. The reason: He found out that the 20-year-old worked as a sex worker in her one-room apartment in Zurich and had paid sex with mostly older men. According to the indictment, he beat her violently, choked her until she blacked out and yelled: “I’m going to fuck you now, you whore, you want that anyway.”
At the trial on Wednesday before the Zurich District Court, the non-confessed mover refused any statements. The prosecutor asked for a three-year prison sentence for rape and threats. In the four-year relationship, there were repeated threats, fights and arguments, even when she was eight months pregnant. The abuse only stopped when she reported to the women’s shelter and the police arrested him in early 2019. He was in custody for a month.
regimes of fear and oppression
The victim’s lawyer spoke of a regime of fear and oppression. “The woman suppressed the abuse for years because she was afraid of death.” He wanted to dominate her and mentally finish her off, which he succeeded in doing. Her client was unable to complete her apprenticeship as a specialist in care and is still traumatized. The attorney demanded that a ban on contact and a ban on the accused be imposed.
In contrast, the German’s lawyer demanded an acquittal. There have been many ups and downs in the long-term relationship, but never a rape. The lawyer mentions that the woman invited her boyfriend to the OpenAir St. Gallen three weeks following the alleged rape – costing 1,700 francs for two people and four days, which she paid. He quoted from a love letter she sent him in 2017: “You are my head, my heart and my future.” She wanted to marry him, they moved into an apartment together. When their son was born in 2018, she wrote him in a Whatsapp message: “Good night, you are the best person in the world.” She kept sending him intimate photos and videos of herself. “Is this the behavior of a woman who has been raped and abused for years?” the lawyer asked rhetorically.
A year more than the prosecutor demanded
For the lawyer it is clear why the ex-girlfriend accused his client of rape and abuse. “She wanted revenge because he had ended the relationship.” The woman tries by all means to prevent him from seeing his son. “The child is the real victim of the relationship drama.” It lives in a youth home and it is bad for him. The process, which has been going on for four years, has also affected his client and he is undergoing psychiatric treatment.
The Zurich District Court found the man guilty of rape and other offenses on Wednesday evening. It sentenced him to an unconditional four years’ imprisonment – one year more than the prosecutor had demanded. “The woman endured a long-term tyranny, it was a toxic relationship with massive domestic violence,” the presiding judge said. The woman’s statements are credible, the inner tension and inner turmoil are clearly evident. It was a brutal rape and he choked her three times in the relationship.
