Filenews 15 February 2023
The Court of Appeal substantially increased by five years the sentence imposed at first instance by the Nicosia Assize Court on a 53-year-old horse farm owner, who admitted nine counts of sexual abuse of minors, sexual exploitation of children and child pornography.
The Court dissociated the concurrent sentences imposed by the Assize Court, which amounted to ten years' imprisonment and five, ordering that they be served in succession. The Attorney General of the Republic, George Savvidis, had filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, considering the initial sentence of ten years in prison as manifestly insufficient for the nature of the case.
The Supreme Court, in its judgment dated February 7, 2023 and agreeing with the position of the Attorney General, ruled that the criminal treatment of the accused, through the imposition of concurrent sentences, led to the manifest inadequacy of the sentence. In addition, the Supreme Court held that the intervention of the Court of Appeal was justified, which decided that the sentence of 5 years' imprisonment on a number of charges, which the defendant had been found guilty of, should be served successively with the sentence of 10 years' imprisonment imposed on him on other charges, which he was facing and in which he was also found guilty. Therefore, according to the Legal Service, the total amount of the prison sentence to be served by the accused is 15 years.
The Court of Appeal, in its judgment, commented that the facts of the case and the aggravating factors that had emerged, among them, the repeated unlawful conduct of the accused on three minor victims, made the present case, "extremely heinous". The need to impose severe and dissuasive penalties for offences such as this one was stressed once again.
The Attorney General of the Republic was represented by the Senior Lawyer of the Republic, Mikaela Pasiardi.
It is noted that the case concerned a 53-year-old horse farm owner, who, according to the assize court's decision, on three occasions had abused three minor children, who either took riding lessons or had something to do with his premises. The defendant, according to the lengthy judgment of the Assize Court, took full advantage of his position of power, and under various pretexts approached the children and carried out his offences.
The Court took into account the repeated action of the accused, on three children, about 13 years old. It was pointed out in the first instance judgment that for the two children, the defendant was their trainer/coach in an obviously favourite activity, while for the third child, he had this status to his friend, whom he visited during her training. At the same time, the defendant seemed unworthy of the trust not only of these children but also of the parents of one, who trusted him for the transportation of their child. Instead of education and protection from the accused, the victims suffered from his actions, to the satisfaction of his carnal appetites, with an impact on their psychic world, as reported in the events. Disdain and revulsion is what the defendant's actions cause, the Court concluded.
