The carousel driver – his age is not clear from the court’s verdict – confessed to sexual abuse before the court. They started with the schoolgirl in September 2024.
Also due to the fact that he did not disappear forever on further trips, but stayed with the girl and takes care of the child, the Jihlava District Court finally sentenced the man to only one year in prison with a conditional suspension of 14 months, even though he could have received up to eight years.
However, the prosecutor’s office protested against such a mild sentence, and the case went before the Brno Regional Court of Appeal. The prosecutors objected that the carousel operator could conclude from the appearance of the schoolgirl that she was not yet 15 years old. In addition, there was only one intercourse, the couple met three times in total and did not use any protection. In addition, during the last sexual intercourse, the man already knew that the girl was only 14.
“Intercourse was unprotected, whereby the defendant showed a certain indifference to the consequences. The court did not deal with the impact of the act on the further life of the victim, when a child was conceived in a situation where, due to her young age, she was not fully capable of deciding whether to become a mother. At the same time, it cannot be assumed that the current situation, where the defendant and the victim form a family and take care of the child, will continue into the future,” appealed the plaintiff.
We cannot punish for what will happen
The man argued that the punishment was sufficient because he took responsibility for his actions, takes care of the child and leads a proper family life with the girl. The panel of the Court of Appeal, headed by Lenka Králíková, also heard about it, as can be seen from the verdict from the end of January, which is available to Fairpress.
The court did not recognize the arguments of the public prosecutor’s office. According to the sentence, the punishment corresponds to the circumstances of the crime, and the carousel’s behavior can still only be perceived as an excess from an otherwise decent life.
“To the prosecutor’s objection that it is not possible to predict whether the current situation, where the defendant takes care of the child and has a partner relationship with the injured party, will last, the court states that this consideration is purely speculative. The court cannot punish the future actions of the defendant, on the contrary, it must be based on the facts known when imposing the sentence, while these circumstances make it easier for the defendant,” the judges stated.
