Driver assaulted sleeping student
A young woman books a night ride through a ride-hailing service a car. In the car, the 20-year-old woman falls asleep shortly later. The driver takes advantage of her helpless situation and rapes her. Now the man is being sentenced. Previously, he had confessed to the crime.
A man, 34, was sentenced to three years in prison for raping a Swedish student in the backseat of a ride-hailing vehicle. The incident occurred when the driver took the defenseless woman to a secluded parking lot and raped her, according to the Berlin Regional Court.
The confessed defendant was also found guilty of violating the woman's intimate sphere through photo recordings. He had taken photos of the woman with his phone. The student had booked a ride from Berlin-Mitte to Neukölln through a ride-hailing service after a bar visit in April of this year. After a brief greeting, the woman, who had consumed alcohol, fell asleep. The defendant decided to take her to a secluded parking lot near the Treptower Park.
The woman awoke approximately two and a half hours later - "the man was on top of me, his pants were down," she described in a police interrogation. She pushed him away screaming, then demanded his phone. Her suspicion that he had taken photos of her was confirmed, the presiding judge noted. Deleted intimate photos were still on the defendant's phone, which he then handed over to the victim. The woman's "impressive composure" was noted.
"Security feeling violated"
The defendant had confessed. In a statement read by his attorney, he expressed remorse for his "massive misconduct." He wanted to pay compensation of 2,000 Euros.
The court took into account the defendant's confession, who had no prior convictions. However, the court followed the prosecutor's request, as the crime had "violated the sense of security." The defense had argued for a probation sentence of one year and seven months. The judgment is not yet final.
The rape case involved an international student, as the victim was a Swedish student visiting Berlin. During the trial, it was revealed that the perpetrator not only violated the woman physically but also invaded her privacy by taking photographs without her consent, adding another layer to the international rape processes.
The international rape processes, in this case, are aimed at ensuring justice for the victim and holding the perpetrator accountable for his actions, which not only include the horrific act of rape but also the invasive act of photo recording without permission.
