Justice Sexual acts with a child: Aargau High Court acquits man

The Aargau High Court has acquitted a 52-year-old man of charges of multiple sexual acts with a child. It found numerous contradictions and inconsistencies in the statements of the 12-year-old girl. The lower court had sentenced the Kosovar to a partial prison sentence.

Despite the acquittal, the man, who denied the allegations in all interviews, will not receive any satisfaction, as can be seen from the written judgment of the High Court.

The court stated in its deliberations that he had not been in custody. The defendant had also not sufficiently explained how the criminal proceedings had led to family, professional or other consequences for him. A particularly serious violation of the defendant's personal circumstances was not apparent.

The case was obviously flawed from the outset. The senior public prosecutor brought charges at the end of 2022. The Bremgarten District Court dismissed the charges due to a lack of representation by the senior public prosecutor's office. The latter referred the criminal proceedings to the Zofingen-Kulm public prosecutor's office, which then brought charges in April 2023.

Prison and expulsion from the country

The Bremgarten District Court found the man guilty in June 2023 and sentenced him to a partial prison term of two years. He was to serve one year in prison. It also expelled the accused Kosovar from the country for eight years. He was ordered to pay the private plaintiff CHF 12,000 in compensation.

The man appealed against this verdict to the High Court and requested that the first-instance verdict be overturned in its entirety.

The High Court questioned the girl at the hearing. The district court had dispensed with this and relied on two interrogations. In the 16-page judgment, the High Court lists numerous doubts about the girl's statements.

Contradictions cannot be explained

The contradictions and inconsistencies in the statements could not be explained or resolved in a comprehensible manner by the High Court, according to the ruling. There were also no detailed statements on the alleged actions.

It was doubtful whether the multiple sexual acts of which the accused was accused according to the indictment had actually taken place. In addition, the possibility of "external and/or autosuggestion" was raised. There was no objective evidence.

The doubts are "not merely abstract and theoretical concerns", but "doubts that cannot be suppressed". The accused was therefore acquitted of the charges in accordance with the principle "in dubio pro reo" ("in case of doubt for the accused"). (Judgment SST.2023.174 of 27.05.2024)