A Złotoryja court has handed down a severe sentence against a 52-year-old man from Legnica County who, in August last year, molested a 9-year-old girl related to him and, in 2004, his own daughter, who was 13 at the time. The man was sentenced to a combined five-year prison term and was subject to the following penal measures for 10 years:

a ban on contacting the victims in person, by telephone or through third parties

a ban on coming within 100 metres of the victims

an obligation to refrain from being near schools, preschools, playgrounds and other places where groups of children gather.

Moreover, the court ordered the convicted man to leave the premises he shared with his daughter, one of the victims. The other victim was awarded PLN 10,000 in compensation.

The indictment in this case was filed with the court by the Złotoryja prosecutor’s office. The 9-year-old’s mother reported the crime. Immediately after the girl was questioned, the perpetrator was placed in pre-trial detention.

The investigation established that in August 2013, the 9-year-old girl went with her aunt and other family members to visit the defendant’s home. At night, he offered to let the girl sleep with him, saying that it was certainly too cramped for them. The child’s aunt, believing the defendant to be a calm man, agreed. The man put the girl in his bed and then caused her to submit to other sexual acts. The girl told no one in the morning. Only after returning home did she tell her mother everything. Her mother immediately notified the police.

When questioned as a suspect, the man admitted committing the crime, blaming his behavior on alcohol he had previously consumed and the fact that he had not had a sex life for several years. He nevertheless stressed that he was not attracted to children.

The investigation established otherwise. The defendant’s now-22-year-old daughter revealed that in the past, when she was 13, her father had committed a similar offense against her several times. In 2004, the girl’s mother, the defendant’s former wife, often travelled abroad for work. The victim was then in her father’s care. During that time, the defendant repeatedly lay down next to her and engaged in lewd acts. The victim pretended to be asleep.

The 13-year-old told family members about the incident, and they confronted the defendant. He denied everything, however, and the police were not notified. Nevertheless, after speaking with the family, the man stopped molesting his daughter. For her safety, she later obtained a large dog.

The defendant denied committing this offense and refused to give an explanation. The court nevertheless had no doubts that the man was guilty. For the offense against the 9-year-old, it sentenced him to three years in prison. For the offense against his daughter, it sentenced him to three and a half years.

On this basis, the defendant was given a combined sentence of five years’ imprisonment without suspension. The prosecutor deemed the judgment justified.

District Prosecutor’s Office in Legnica/ii