A court in the Limburg city of Hasselt has sentenced a man to 10 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of drugging and raping his wife over a period of years. The 54-year-old was already in custody on remand and was not in court to hear his sentence.
In civil proceedings his now ex-wife was awarded provisional damages of 15,000 euro. An expert has been appointed to assess whether further damages should be paid. The civil proceedings will be reopened in October.
The man, who is from the Limburg municipality of Zonhoven, repeatedly drugged his wife by administering heavy sedatives in tea. While she was drugged, he raped her, penetrating her with various objects. He took photographs and shot video footage of the abuse. These were found on data carriers belonging to the man. He did not distribute the images. The 54-year-old was arrested early last year.
The victim’s lawyer Luk Delbrouck told the press agency Belga that “I think that the verdict as it stands now clearly shows that the suffering my client has endured has been recognised. The court recognises this suffering and also recognises that it went on for a very long time. I think that the sentence is very appropriate.”