Man gets eight years for raping roommate

A man has been sentenced to eight years in prison after being found guilty on rape charges following a complaint filed by his female housemate.

According to local media, a criminal court in Nicosia handed down an 8-year prison sentence to a 37-year-old man from Cameroon, who was found guilty in the rape of his housemate, a 20-year-old woman from Latvia.

The case dates back to mid-March 2019, when the woman filed a complaint with police alleging she was raped by the Cameroonian male.

The defendant and his accuser were both living in an apartment in Nicosia, which had been divided to multiple rooms where other people resided as well.

According to details heard in court, the man entered the woman’s room without permission, used violence and forced her to have sex.

The defendant, who was said to be an asylum seeker, argued that sex was consensual.

Forensic reports at the time said the female had abrasions on her body.

After being found guilty of rape, the presiding judge in the criminal case handed down the sentence, saying the rape offence was serious with a devastating impact on the victim.

The judges also took into consideration the defendant’s clean criminal record, as well as other personal circumstances relayed to the court by his defence attorney, before passing sentence.