4-year prison sentence for 19-year-old convicted of rape is ‘too low’, says Minister Demir

The Flemish Minister of Justice, Zuhal Demir, said the four-year prison sentence for a 19-year-old convicted of rape is ‘too low’. The man was handed the sentence for the rape of a pregnant woman.

Minister Demir has called for improved therapy and rehabilitation for sex offenders in prison, stating there is “never an excuse” for raping women. She also lashed out at the lawyer Christine Mussche after referring to the defender and client as an “ordinary” boy.

The sex offender, Ben C., had drunkenly pulled a 29-year-old pregnant woman off her bicycle in the early hours of 7 April 2021 in Lier and raped her. The maximum sentence that the court could have imposed for the offence was five years in prison.

But the three-member court, made up of women, ruled that four years would suffice, two of which are suspended.

Demir does not consider it problematic that she offered her opinion on a judicial verdict, her spokesperson said, as she is the Flemish, as opposed to a federal- Minister of Justice, as well as a “human being with the right to her own opinion.”

The Justice Minister often believes that rape cases are sentenced too low, as she is in favour of a higher sentence combined with offender therapy.

The lawyer defending the rape victim, Hugo Coveliers, does not agree with Demir’s criticism. “It is always better as a minister not to comment on a matter you are not familiar with. I am also in favour of stricter sentences, but I think this is a good verdict.”

Besides four years in prison, the perpetrator must pay large damages, get treatment for his sexual problems and stay away from drugs and alcohol. “I’m pretty sure they’ll follow suit,” Coveliers said.