Convicted rapist’s ‘fatherly affection’ appeal flops

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal this week from a man convicted of raping his 17-year-old step-daughter, citing a complete lack of basis in some of his arguments.

The girl was 14 years old when the man started going out with her mother, and as the two adults became a couple, he moved in and would often lie on the sofa with this teenage step-daughter, according to court documents.

During the initial trial, the court heard that the man would often hug the girl while the two were on the sofa in an effort to show fatherly affection according to him, while at one time when she was in her mid-teen years, the man inserted his hand in her underwear and placed his fingers in her vagina while she was attempting to resist.

The man apologised but later repeated his behaviour, according to what was heard in court, until one time while her mother was gone, the two were watching television and he grabbed her by the head and forced her to perform fellatio on him. This kind of sexual abuse went on many times when the teen’s mother was out of the house.

One day when the girl was 17 years old, according to court documents, the step dad forced the teenage girl to bend over the sofa, pulled down her underwear, and raped her.

The man, described as night club singer, reportedly also got the girl’s mother pregnant during the period of the sexual abuse, while later he left their home and married another woman with whom she had another child.

The judge who presided over the initial case also heard that the girl, who had lost her father at the age of three, was scared and did not want to say anything until she was urged to speak out by a friend a few years later. She also had the support of her mom when she spoke with the police.

During the appeal, the convicted rapist asked for leniency, arguing that the girl’s testimony was the only testimony against him. But the Supreme Court ruled that the witness had been found reliable by the court.

He also argued that it was unfair that other convicts had received a presidential pardon when President Nicos Anastasiades was re-elected in 2018, with the Supreme Court judges refusing to even examine the basis of his argument.

The man is currently serving multiple sentences up to ten years for his crimes. He received concurrent sentences including ten years for rape, two years for corrupting a minor, and six years for seven counts of child exploitation.