The appeal of the Attorney General of the Republic in a case of sexual abuse of an adult is accepted – The Supreme Court increased the defendant's prison sentence from 4.5 to 10 years
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Accepting the appeal registered by the Attorney General of the Republic for an insufficient prison sentence, as it was imposed by the Permanent Criminal Court of Nicosia to an accused who was found guilty, among others, for the crime of sexual abusein violation of Section 146A of the Penal Code (penetrative sexual abuse), the Supreme Court today issued a unanimous decision to increase the prison sentence against the accused from 4.5 to 10 years.
In fact, the Supreme Court in its decision, did not fail to point out in relation to the crime of sexual abuse by penetration, that the relevant article 146A was added to the Criminal Code as a recognition that such form of sexual abuse was not previously subject to the relevant legislative regulation and strictness. This legislative amendment, according to the Court, “is intended to introduce offenses that categorize and expand rape into specific forms of sexual acts, in ways different from the classic meaning and definition of the crime of rape.”
“In cases of sexual offences, jurisprudence shows that dissuasive sentences should be imposed for repressive purposes, due to their particular seriousness as crimes, which are not only directed against morals, but also offend the personality of the victim. This situation creates an obligation for the courts to impose particularly deterrent and therefore severe penalties, with the result that personal circumstances are secondary and that the individualization of the penalty, no matter how imposed, does not have a decisive role,” the Supreme Court typically states.< /p>
On behalf of the Attorney General of the Republic, the case was handled by Ms. Louisa Sigard, Attorney of the Republic.
