In December 2020, a penalty order (that is, one issued on the basis of the case file) was handed down in the case against councillor Dariusz F. The councillor filed an objection, and a regular trial is now under way. Investigators charged him with abusing an employee and inciting the commission of the crime of forging a signature.
At the next hearing, in the absence of the councillor, the court heard the injured woman. The prosecutor explained why a psychologist expert was present in the courtroom.
– As a result of all the conduct recorded [w materiale dowodowym przyp. red.], the injured woman suffered certain psychological injuries; I call it psychological trauma – prosecutor Sebastian Woźniak says. – The injured woman received medical assistance in this regard, including from a specialist doctor, and the court concluded that she needed to be questioned with the participation of a specialist expert in order to establish her mental state – the prosecutor explains.
Because of the injured woman’s mental state, journalists were not present in the courtroom. According to information from the prosecutor, the injured woman calmly described all the conduct covered by the charges. She also described it in detail, focusing on how she herself experienced it.
– I am not prejudging whether the accused is guilty; the court will decide that – the prosecutor says. – I presented the evidence to the court, and the court will decide objectively. The accused’s right to a defence is also being exercised very intensively here, and rightly so, because we are in an equal position before an independent court – the prosecutor adds.
When asked whether the accused’s family relationship with the injured woman is relevant to the case, Sebastian Woźniak replies decisively that it is not. He adds, however, that the hiring of a family member by a manager should be addressed by the manager’s superior, because it is not proper.
– The family relationship between the accused and the injured woman is entirely irrelevant during the proceedings – says Sebastian Woźniak. He adds: – Undoubtedly, it shows that even this circumstance did not stop the manager from engaging in this type of conduct. Of course, what the accused said at the first hearing—that he had arranged a job for the injured woman—is an issue that should have been dealt with by whoever supervised the manager, because that is not proper either. He hired her. Perhaps he should have considered changing the employee, rather than engaging in the kind of conduct he engaged in – the prosecutor comments.
For both offences of which Dariusz F. is accused, he faces a prison sentence of between three months and five years.