Coevorden man gets six years for raping step-daughter; Pregnant at 13

The court in Leeuwarden sentenced a 43-year-old man from Coevorden to six years in prison on appeal for raping his then 12-year-old stepdaughter. The court called it especially damning that the child became pregnant and had to undergo an abortion at 13. The sentence is higher than the four years in prison the court in Assen initially imposed, NOS reports.

The man sexually abused the girl in her own bedroom for over a year from February 2020, attacking her when the child's mother was working. According to the court, the man "grossly abused the trust placed in him and caused considerable physical and psychological damage to the child."

The court pointed out that the man did not use contraceptives even though he knew that the girl could become pregnant. In fact, he urged the child's mother to put the 12-year-old girl on the contraceptive pill. "It goes without saying that an abortion at such a young age was very drastic," the court said. 

Psychologists who examined the man found no signs that he suffered from a disorder. He is, therefore, completely liable for his actions. In addition to the six-year prison sentence, the court banned the man from contacting the girl for five years and ordered him to pay the victim 15,000 euros in compensation.