Sexual abuse

Legal definiton 

Section 187 of the Criminal Code:

(1) Whoever performs intercourse with child under fifteen years of age or sexually abuses them in another manner, shall be punished by imprisonment for one to eight years. 

(2) The perpetrator shall be punished by imprisonment for two to ten years if the act referred to in paragraph 1 is committed against a child under the age of fifteen who is entrusted to their care, by abusing the child's dependency or the perpetrator's position of trust or influence.

(3) The perpetrator shall be punished by imprisonment for five to twelve years if the act referred to in paragraph 1 causes serious bodily harm.

(4) The perpetrator shall be punished by imprisonment for ten to eighteen years if the act referred to in paragraph 1 results in death.

(5) Preparation is criminal. 

Subjective aspect - intent

Sexual abuse is an intentional criminal offence. A criminal offence is committed intentionally if the perpetrator wanted to violate or endanger a legally protected interest in the manner specified by the Criminal Code (direct intent), or if the perpetrator knew that his actions could result in such a violation or endangerment and accepted the possibility of it occurring (indirect intent).

If the act can be deemed as mere negligence rather than intent, it does not constitute the described criminal offence. 

Defense

There are various defense strategies available. Given the elements of this crime, the following questions may be relevant:

• Did sexual intercourse or another form of sexual abuse occur?
  
• What actions were taken by the accused?
  
• What actions were taken by the aggrieved person?
  
• Did physical contact occur? In what form and intensity?
  
• Was the person a child under the age of fifteen? 
  
• What was the relationship between the perpetrator and the aggrieved person?
  
• What was their relationship like before the incident?
  
• What was it like afterward?
  
• Was the perpetrator sane at the time of the act? Were they under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or mental illness?
• Was the perpetrator's intent directed towards the decisive facts?

In the case of this criminal offence, it is particularly important to reconstruct the entire course of the relevant actions and their context in detail. Special attention must be paid to the credibility of both the alleged perpetrator and the aggrieved person. An expert opinion in the field of healthcare, specifically clinical psychology and psychiatry, which is often prepared in such cases, can play a very significant role in this process.