An agreement was reached between the defense and the prosecution that avoided imprisonment for an 82-year-old man in Bande. The final judgment shows that the defendant sexually abused a woman with a disability in a nursing home. The victim suffered from advanced dementia, and the case was handled through a criminal disposition that terminated the trial after a negotiated punishment.
The defendant accepted a two-year prison sentence, but the term was suspended for 24 months on two conditions: first, that the defendant refrain from committing any crime during this period, and second, that compensation be paid to the victim in the amount of 1,000 euros for non-pecuniary damage. The suspension applies because the defendant has no prior criminal record, and the decision includes a five-year probationary period along with a prohibition on contacting or approaching the injured party from a distance of less than 300 meters.
The victim was declared incompetent by the court in March 2015. In a decision issued in April 2022, the court noted that the woman’s advanced dementia significantly affects her cognitive abilities and willpower. The defendant’s wife was appointed as the de facto guardian to represent the victim’s interests.
On 26 August 2022, around 17:00, the defendant, then 81 years old, visited a nursing home in Bande where he encountered the victim, who used a wheelchair. He took her outside the facility while she was alone, and the acts that followed were recorded in the proceedings.
“He acted solely for the purpose of satisfying his lustful desires.”
The court emphasized that the defendant was aware of the victim’s disability and vulnerability. The record indicates that he lifted the victim’s sweater, touched her breasts, and while continuing in a moment of coercive control, performed explicit sexual actions. The description notes that he exposed himself and engaged in masturbation with the injured woman’s hand, later attempting to ejaculate on her. These actions were cited in the judgment as evidence of a breach of trust and abuse of the victim’s condition.
This sentence serves as a formal warning about the crime of sexual abuse. Should the defendant fail to comply with the conditions of the suspension, the prison sentence could be activated. The conditions require that no crime be committed within the next two years and that the civil compensation be fulfilled as ordered by the court.