Medical student guilty of rape walks free due to ‘profession potential and youth’

Comparisons are already being drawn to the 2016 Brock Turner case within the US (Picture: Getty Images)

A medical student found guilty of raping a girl walked free from court in Belgium – without punishment – due to his ‘youth and talent’.

The Leuven court justified its decision by citing the 24-year-old’s future as a gynecologist, sparking accusations that the legal system protects rapists over victims.

‘It’s undeniable that he crossed the road of what is appropriate but he continues to be young,’ the judge said.

The court also said that if the person – who has not been named in Belgium media – is jailed, he would later find it hard to get a job as a gynecologist, which is his field of study.

The attack happened after a Halloween party at a student bar in November 2023.

Suddenly, the victim lost consciousness of her surroundings. It is just not clear whether or not she had been drugged.

Last month, her lawyer assured the court: ‘She stumbled and was unable to arise on her own two feet.

‘She needed support to forestall her from falling down.’

On the pretence of helping her, the attacker took her back to his student accommodation, where he raped her.

The court acknowledged the victim was ‘in no condition to consent’ and deemed the crime ‘serious and unacceptable.’

However the judge granted the person a suspended sentence, citing his profession potential and clean record.

Comparisons are already being drawn to similar cases by which attackersreceived lenient sentences resulting from their perceived potential.

The 2016 Brock Turner case within the US, by which a Stanford swimmer was handed just six months for sexual assault, is now being referenced as considered one of the examples.

There are warnings that such rulings will send the message that one way or the other ‘talent’ can outweigh sexual abuse, leaving increasingly victims without justice.