Man gets eight years for raping stepdaughter

A 40-year-old Larnaca resident was sentenced to eight years for sexually assaulting his teenage step daughter who has a mental disorder.

The Larnaca-Famagusta Criminal Court handed down the sentence last week in a closed session, noting that despite mitigating circumstances “the law is particularly strict when it comes to punishment” for sex crimes against minors.

The victim, who was 14 years old at the time of the crimes, has mental health problems and her abuser was married to her mother.

The court said that despite the perpetrator knowing about his stepdaughter’s health condition, he proceeded to sexually abuse her and rape her, facing a total of ten separate counts of sexual assault.

The crimes were committed between June 2015 and August 2016, the court said, but did not give further details as to the precise nature or location of the crimes.

The man, originally from Nicosia who moved to Larnaca, was also facing psychological issues, according to court documents.

For mitigating circumstances, the court cited health reports indicating the man was suffering from mild mental health problems, such as not being able to have constructive thoughts.

“The cognitive abilities of the defendant are limited, he exhibits poor thought organisation, a short attention span and short memory,” the court added.

“He has limited abilities in abstract thoughts and lacks the ability to draw on personal experiences to make generalizations,” the court also said.

But the statement also said that “the protection of victims, especially minors, from such abhorrent and criminal acts, must always prevail,” citing strict laws for preventing and combating sexual abuse, child sex abuse, and child pornography.

The court said the defendant cited a number of personal problems which they they were not questioned as to their legitimacy.

“However, those issues are not sufficient to undercut the seriousness of the criminal offences and the need to impose severe and deterrent punishment, but also the need to protect minors from this type of offenders.”