- 44-year-old admits to rape - perpetrator-victim settlement
The rape trial against a 44-year-old man, currently residing in Schwerin, began on Tuesday at the Regional Court in Schwerin with a partial confession. "I still can't explain my outburst," the defendant said after one of his two lawyers read out a statement in which the man admitted to forcing his long-term partner to have sex and beating her in the shared duplex house in a village in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district on New Year's Eve from 2023 to 2024.
According to the indictment, he also dragged his victim by the hair into the hallway and pushed her down the stairs. In addition to rape, the man is accused of bodily harm. Injuries on the woman's face and arms were clearly visible in police photos.
He could not remember a rape that allegedly took place in December 2019 after an argument in a hotel in Potsdam, which is also part of the indictment. According to the indictment, the couple, who had been together since 2016, separated briefly afterwards but then got back together.
As a sign of remorse, the defendant transferred his share of the house ownership, valued at 50,000 euros, to the woman and also gave her the caravan as part of a victim-offender mediation process. He hopes that she will accept this as compensation for the suffering he caused and as an apology, he said in a trembling voice. There was no personal apology due to the imposed contact ban. The state prosecutor's office stated that the cause of the serious incident was the impending separation of the couple, which the man wanted to discuss again after a visit to neighbors, leading to the situation escalating.
The defendant was drunk at the time of the crime, as evidenced by police protocols read out in court. A breathalyzer test showed nearly two promille. The test was conducted on New Year's Eve after the 44-year-old drove drunk and caused an accident with total damage. He has been without a driver's license since then. The man, who has two children from a previous relationship, stated in court that he rarely drinks alcohol and is actively seeking professional help to address his behavior, but finds it difficult to get appointments with therapists.
The court has scheduled three more trial days until mid-August, during which investigators and neighbors who received a help request from the victim via a messaging service will be heard as witnesses.
The victim in this case is a woman, as evidenced by the defendant transferring his share of the house ownership to her. The woman had sustained visible injuries, including on her face and arms, allegedly as a result of the defendant's actions.
