The Legnica Regional Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment on 12 May 2025 against 33-year-old Mateusz J., who allegedly subjected a 31-year-old woman to particularly cruel abuse for four years in Gaiki near Głogów. “The above-mentioned man deprived the woman of her freedom by keeping her in a storage room, raped, beat and humiliated her, causing her serious bodily injuries,” says Liliana Łukasiewicz, press spokesperson for the Legnica Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

Mateusz J. is accused of depriving a woman who was incapacitated due to her mental state at the time of her freedom—in a manner involving particular torment—from July 2020 to 27 August 2024 in Gaiki near Głogów. Against her will, he allegedly kept her in an outbuilding locked from the outside with a padlock, without a window or regular access to natural daylight, heating, water or a toilet. The room was located on his private family property.

Moreover, according to investigators, J. restricted the victim’s access to other rooms, water, a toilet and hygiene products, and controlled her access, at his own discretion, to food and drinks, as well as electricity, heating and other utilities and means of communication, including a telephone.

He also subjected her to particularly cruel psychological and physical abuse: he beat her body with his fists, a rubber garden hose, a plank, a wooden stick and a lamp; kicked, suffocated, pushed and pulled her; twisted her arms and dragged her by the hair. He isolated her from other people, humiliated and verbally abused her, took her outside with a balaclava forcibly placed over her head, maliciously shaved her head and constantly controlled all her behavior, leading the woman to attempt suicide in July 2024.

Spokesperson:

Furthermore, during this period, repeatedly, at his own discretion and against the victim’s will, using violence and unlawful threats of beating, bodily harm and killing, he forced the victim to engage in sexual intercourse and also forced her to submit to and perform other sexual acts. On at least two occasions, he recorded this using a mobile phone and also caused the above-mentioned victim bodily injuries:
  • on 6 August 2023—injuries constituting a life-threatening illness, requiring life-saving hospital treatment and specialist medical procedures which, had medical assistance not been provided or had it been delayed, would undoubtedly have led to the victim’s death;
  • on 25 August 2024—in the form of head and left shoulder-joint injuries that resulted in paresis of two fingers, causing a health disorder and impairment of the function of body organs for a period exceeding seven days (…).

The victim and the accused met in 2018 on one of the online dating sites. They began dating. At that time, the victim lived in Leszno with her parents and her two minor children. Prosecutor: – Among other things, because of her relationship with the accused, who treated her badly from the outset, and because she neglected her parental duties, the woman moved to an intervention and readaptation center in January 2020. At the turn of June and July 2020, because she could not find a job, Mateusz J. offered that she could live on his family farm, provided that his parents did not find out. The victim accepted the offer.

She adds: – From the moment the woman was placed in the storage room, the accused began treating her as an object—as someone expected to satisfy his sexual whims at any time. The victim became completely psychologically and physically dependent on him.

During the relationship, in November 2020, the above-mentioned woman gave birth to the accused’s child, whom she placed for adoption at the hospital. After giving birth, she returned to the storage room where she had previously been held.

During the period of her deprivation of liberty, Mateusz J. repeatedly, at his own discretion and against the victim’s will, using violence and unlawful threats of beating, bodily harm and killing, forced the said victim to engage in sexual intercourse.

In at least one case—on 6 August 2023—during sexual intercourse, Mateusz J. used a dangerous object against the above-mentioned woman, causing her serious bodily injuries that required medical intervention.

The accused took the victim to a hospital in Głogów, where, despite being questioned, the woman did not complain about Mateusz J. to any member of the medical staff. She then returned with Mateusz J. to the property in Gaiki.

The accused’s treatment of the victim continued to deteriorate. His demands concerning the fulfillment of his sexual fantasies grew, and he responded to refusals with increased aggression and violence.

On 25 August 2024, after causing the woman a head injury and dislocating her left shoulder joint, the accused took her to the hospital in Głogów once again. Only during this stay—after employees of the medical facility persuaded her to speak—did she tell anyone for the first time about her four-year situation, the accused’s abuse and the sexual violence used against her.

Mateusz J. was arrested immediately afterward and then placed in pre-trial detention.

When questioned as a suspect, Mateusz J. denied committing the alleged crime, claiming that nothing happened without the victim’s consent.

Investigators:

A probation interview indicates that the suspect has a relatively average reputation in his place of residence and among those closest to him. He is not dependent on alcohol or psychoactive substances. Shortly before his arrest, he was unemployed. He helped his parents. He lived alone and avoided company.

Court-appointed psychiatrists did not diagnose the accused with a mental illness or intellectual disability; they ruled out other mental disorders that could be relevant to assessing his criminal responsibility. However, they found in Mateusz J. traits of a psychopathic personality, characterized by an extremely egocentric and selfish attitude and treating people instrumentally, with complete disregard for their feelings.

The psychological and sexological assessment indicates, among other things, that the accused displays psychopathic personality disorders and disorders of sexual preference in the form of sadism.

Prosecutor’s Office:

The experts concluded that, even while in penitentiary isolation, the accused must undergo appropriate treatment for personality disorders and sexological therapy. There is a high probability that, if at liberty, Mateusz J. could commit acts of a similar nature again—against life, health and sexual freedom. In his current mental state, Mateusz J. is able to participate in criminal proceedings and stand trial.

The crimes Mateusz J. is accused of carry a sentence of 5 to 30 years in prison. The case will be heard by the Legnica Regional Court.