A decision has been made regarding Krzysztof J., a 49-year-old resident of Wrocław suspected of raping a 19-year-old Ukrainian citizen whom he had taken into his home. The prosecutor’s office requested temporary detention for the resident of the capital of Lower Silesia, who had been arrested. However, the court ruled that police supervision would be sufficient. Judge Marek Poteralski, spokesperson for the District Court in Wrocław, told Radio Wrocław:
The evidence presented by the prosecutor’s office did not indicate rape.
According to the spokesperson, the evidence points instead to another offense: sexual exploitation of a relationship of dependence or a critical situation. (This is punishable by up to three years in prison, while rape can result in a prison sentence of up to twelve years).
On Monday, the prosecutor’s office is to decide whether it will appeal the court’s decision.
Let us recall. We recently reported that on March 9—following intensified and extensive police efforts—a 49-year-old man suspected of raping a 19-year-old woman from Ukraine, whom he had taken into his home, was arrested in Wrocław. “Initial findings indicate that the man forcibly compelled the woman to engage in sexual intercourse against her will,” staff warrant officer Łukasz Dutkowiak of the press team of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wrocław explained at the time. “He had previously met the girl, offering his help through an online portal. He took her into his apartment and committed this brutal crime.”
The suspect was arrested less than an hour and a half after the report of the crime was filed.
The officers added at the time:
There is no acceptance of this kind of behavior. The fact that the woman was in a difficult life situation is especially deserving of condemnation—she had fled war-torn Ukraine, did not know the Polish language, did not know the city, and had never been to Poland. She trusted a man who promised to help her and provide shelter. Unfortunately, all of this turned out to be a deceitful manipulation by the 49-year-old.
They also stressed:
We respond to situations of this kind with complete firmness and severity. There is no leniency, and there will be none, for criminals who exploit human misfortune.