The Appeals Court has unanimously rejected the motion submitted by a stepfather convicted on 18 charges of sexual crimes against his stepdaughter, a minor during the relevant time that the crimes were committed.
It also threw out an appeal regarding the sentence imposed on the accused, as it fully upheld the initial decision.
According to the ruling issued on February 12th and made public today, the charges involved sexual acts against the minor committed during 2018-2019, when she was 13. They included rape, sexual abuse of a minor in violation of her trust, as well as domestic violence offences.
'The Court of First Instance is generally better suited to accurately evaluate all witnesses during the trial', the decision said.
The stepfather claimed that the Criminal Court made a judicial error in its evaluation of expert witnesses that testified. The Appeals Court ruled that this argument was not relevant to the ultimate question of the case, namely whether the sexual assault of the minor actually took place.
'And this was for the court and the judges to decide', the court added, further indicating that the credibility of the witness is not for the expert to establish.
Witnesses included relatives of the victim, with the Appeals Court making clear that these witnesses 'were not evaluated differently than any other', refuting the stepfather's claim of not being judged by an impartial court, thus violating his right to a fair trial.
'This allegation is not justified', the Appeals Court ruled, adding that there is nothing to sustain the convicted man's argument that his testimony was not judged fairly, but the court's approach was merely to convict him.
On the sentence appeal, the court ruled that the seriousness and serial nature of the crimes, as well as the age of the victim are aggravating factors, justifying the more severe sentence.
SOURCE: CNA