The Debrecen District Court announced on its website Thursday that two men were sentenced to seven and a half and six years in prison for sexual assault and other crimes, though the verdict is not yet final.
According to the facts of the case, on the evening of August 25, 2023, the defendants traveled from Hencida to Debrecen while intoxicated to spend the night out. Early the next morning, they met the victim and her friend outside a nightclub.
Taking advantage of the victim’s intoxicated state, the 28-year-old first defendant escorted her by the arm while the 25-year-old second defendant led the way. The defendants promised to drive the girl home but then the second defendant declared, “Gas isn’t free, little girl,” and both men grabbed the victim.
The men groped and assaulted her, but after she screamed, kicked, and resisted strongly, the second defendant fled with her bag, followed by his accomplice. They rifled through the bag and discarded it afterward.
The Debrecen District Court, in its first-instance ruling on Tuesday, found both defendants guilty of joint sexual assault, robbery, document fraud, and misuse of a cash substitute payment instrument.
The court considered it an aggravating circumstance that the defendants acted as co-perpetrators while intoxicated. Moreover, the first defendant was under investigation for attempted murder at the time of the crime, while the second defendant was already on probation for a serious bodily harm conviction.
On the other hand, the court acknowledged mitigating factors: the first defendant had a mild intellectual disability, and the second defendant had a minor child to support.
The court sentenced the first defendant, as a habitual offender, to seven years and six months in prison and the second defendant to six years. It also enforced a previous 10-month prison sentence issued by the Berettyóújfalu District Court for the second defendant.
The verdict is not final. The prosecutor reserved three working days to decide on an appeal, while the second defendant and his lawyer appealed for a reduction. The first defendant and his lawyer accepted the decision.
Picture: illustration.
