Court convicts 5 in gang rape of 15 year old; Up to 3 years in prison
Five suspects were found guilty on Monday of the April 2019 gang rape of an incapacitated 15 year old girl in Den Bosch. One suspect, a minor at the time, was also found guilty of raping another debilitated 15 year old girl in January of the same year. A sixth suspect was acquitted of involvement, and charges were previously dropped against a seventh suspect.
The man who was a minor at the time is a 20-year-old from Den Bosch. He was sentenced to two years in prison, the maximum allowed as he was 17 when the incidents took place. The incidents took place at a home on Orthen in Den Bosch, where the young suspect operates an auto repair shop.
The others who were convicted include three men from Den Bosch, now aged 21, 21, and 26, and a 21-year-old from Rosmalen. Adults face a minimum sentence of 24 months behind bars if convicted of rape. The court sentenced them to three years in prison due to the severity of the case, noting the presence of multiple perpetrators who had sexual contact orally and vaginally with the girl, that she was subject to humiliation, and that no sexual protection was used.
Their prison sentences will be offset by the amount of time they already spent in pre-trial detention.
In its judgement against the youngest suspect the ruling stated that he and the others forced the gang rape victim "to undergo sexual acts through violence and other means, and that the intent of the suspect was aimed at undergoing these sexual acts against [her] will."
One of the boys filmed the violent encounter, and shouted derogatory terms at the girl. The men took turns raping her vaginally and orally. The suspects claimed that she voluntarily participated in the sex acts, but the court ruled that the suspects did not even consider if it was fun for the girl. There are indications in the criminal file that yet more girls have been raped by the gang.
Prosecutors speculated that both underage victims in the case were drugged, to which the court said, "it cannot be concluded, but neither can it be ruled out." At the very least, the court agreed that that girls were intoxicated.
The indictment also noted that the victim felt that she "didn't have the energy to fight back" while she was held in a chill-out room in the youngest suspect's shop. She said "she felt light-headed and that she occasionally passed out," the verdict added.
The victim in the January 2019 case also said, “I saw what was happening but couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t move my arms and legs anymore.”
The suspects were ordered to pay nearly 8,900 euros in restitution, and about 1,500 euros in court costs. The five convicted in the gang rape will be subject to a five-year restraining order preventing them from contacting the victim. The 20-year-old man was also banned from contacting the first victim for a period of five years.
His co-defendant in the earlier rape case was the 21-year-old man from Rosmalen. Though that man was convicted in the gang rape, he was acquitted in the other case.
