Short jail term, small fine for raping teen in public bus

A 20-year-old man from Zwolle was sentenced to 180 days of juvenile detention, 160 of which conditionally suspended, 60 hours of community service, treatment and a fine of 750 euros for raping a then 18-year-old woman on a public bus between Zwolle and Dedemsvaart in April last year, AD reports.

The victim ran into the perpetrator on Stationsplein in Zwolle in April last year. They knew each other vaguely from school. Both got onto the bus to Devendaar. The perpetrator went to sit with the victim at the back of the bus, where he forced her to perform oral sex on him, according to surveillance camera images and the victim's statement. 

The man acknowledged that they performed sexual acts on the bus, but said that it was consensual. The court does not believe this. "For the victim, having been subjected to these sexual acts must have been a very unpleasant and humiliating experience, especially given that those acts took place in the presence of the bus driver and other unsuspecting passengers", the court said.

The Zwolle man, who was 18 years old at the time of the crime, was tried under juvenile criminal law because, according to the court, there is a chance that he is younger than the age stated in his identity documents. He was born in Somalia and came to the Netherlands as a child. The fact that he has a mild intellectual disability, which makes it more difficult for him to see the consequences of his actions, also played a role. 

The Public Prosecutor demanded nine months in juvenile detention, four of which conditionally suspended, against the man. The court came to a lower sentence because the man has undergone continuous positive development after his arrest, is motivated to continue his treatment, and has a stable living situation waiting for him. The man will be on probation for two years. He is obliged to report to the authorities on a regular basis and to continue treatment.