A high-level EU official was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison for the rape of a junior colleague on the premises of the European Commission, a Brussels court official said Tuesday.
The EU official, identified by AFP as Margus Rahuoja, was a director in the Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport in 2015 when the incident occurred. The court’s head judge, Luc Hennart, said the defendant had organized an office party “to thank employees and celebrate the birth of his daughter,” but the situation “evolved, it degenerated.”
The defendant testified that the encounter was consensual, but “after looking at all the facts, the court concluded there had been no consent,” Hennart said.
The court also said it considered the fact that the accuser — who is 20 years younger than Rahuoja — worked under the supervision of the defendant as part of its judgment.
Rahuoja, an Estonian national, plans to appeal the decision, his lawyer Damien Holzapfel told AFP.
A spokesperson for the European Commission said the “staff member in question has been suspended since the incident was first reported to the Commission, and internal procedures were initiated.” The Commission, however, by law cannot take further action until a final judgment has been handed down by the national court, the spokesperson added.
In addition to the four-year prison sentence, Rahuoja was ordered to pay the victim more than €30,000 in compensation for damages. He was also banned from exercising his civil rights for five years, including his right to vote.
Source: politico.eu
