Stepfather Attacked Stepdaughter Twice, Court Rejects Plea Deal With Three-Year Suspended Sentence

The Regional Court in Brno has rejected a plea agreement between the prosecution and a man accused of sexually assaulting his underage stepdaughter. According to the investigation, the attacks took place in February this year, and the agreed punishment — a three-year suspended sentence with a five-year probation period — was called disproportionately lenient by the court.

Two Attacks Within Days

The first incident, investigators say, took place in the bathroom: the man grabbed the girl by the neck and tried to kiss her, and when she tried to break free, he held her by the arms and hair. She managed to escape that time.

Three days later, the girl was less fortunate. She had fallen asleep in the living room, where the man began molesting her. When she woke up and screamed, he covered her mouth with his hand and continued the assault — stopping only because her mother came home.

When the shocked girl asked her stepfather why he had done it, he reportedly answered without a trace of doubt, according to case files: “It’s your own fault — do you really think I couldn’t force myself on you?” The man’s name and appearance are known to the editorial team but are being withheld to protect the victim.

Court Refuses to Approve the Deal

During the investigation into charges of extortion and sexual assault, the man reached an agreement with the prosecution for a three-year suspended sentence with a five-year probation period, supervision by a probation officer, and outpatient sexological treatment.

“I’m seeing a sexologist and taking medication. I’m also seeing a psychologist. I have a new girlfriend now, and we live together,” the defendant told the Brno Regional Court on Thursday.

The agreement was presented to the court by prosecutor Marek Vagai, but the panel, chaired by Judge Dušan Beránek, refused to approve it. “Given the actual circumstances and the defendant’s sexual deviance, the agreed punishment is unreasonably lenient,” Beránek said, noting that under standard sentencing procedure, a fair punishment would fall within the range of 4.5 to 5 years in prison.

According to the judge, while the attacks may not be among the most severe, they are far from something that can simply be brushed aside. “One can only imagine what might have happened if the girl’s mother hadn’t come home,” he stressed.

The judge also cited a psychologist’s report, according to which the girl now avoids other people, suffers from depressed and withdrawn moods, and seeks solitude — even though she wishes she could feel cheerful again.

“The agreed punishment was unjust, but you may try to negotiate a new one,” Beránek told the prosecutor and the defendant, giving them several more weeks to revise the terms of the deal. If no new agreement is reached and approved by the court, the prosecution will have to file formal charges, and the case will proceed through standard court proceedings.

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Source: novinky.cz