Four teenage migrants found guilty of gang raping a woman in the Netherlands have been jailed for a maximum of just 15 months, Dutch media reports.
The perpetrators, aged between 16 and 18, carried out the attack on the 33-year-old victim in a park in the southern city of Helmond in December 2023.
The woman, who was homeless, was sat alone on a bench before being surrounded by the group and dragged into a grassy field.
There she was pushed to the ground, beaten and brutally raped, according to news outlet NRC. Her mobile phone was also stolen.
The teenagers, described as ‘unaccompanied foreign minors’, were sentenced on Monday and handed sentences in a juvenile detention centre due to their age.
Police officers reportedly found the woman partially naked and with a swollen nose and jaw following the vicious attack.
The attackers’ sentences, three months of which are conditional, come in at far lower than the two years demanded by prosecutors.
In its judgement, the Den Bosch court reportedly stated that the youths needed ‘guidance’ on how to function in Dutch society.
The woman was sat alone on a bench in the park before being surrounded by the group and dragged into a grassy field. Pictured: Burgemeester Geukerspark in Helmond
The verdict, which has been slammed as lenient, took into account the ‘lack of supervision and guidance’ offered to the perpetrators.
The court admitted that such a vile act ‘evokes feelings of disgust and indignation in society and in particular feelings of insecurity among women.’
The conditional element of the sentence is hoped to deter the teenagers from reoffending, the judge reportedly said.
The group was also ordered to jointly pay 15,000 euros in damages to the victim.
A fifth suspect was found guilty of assaulting the woman and was handed four months in juvenile detention.
The trial took place behind closed doors due to the perpetrators’ ages at the time of the attack.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
