Saying no to sex not enough to secure rape conviction
A 22-year-old man who admitted that his accuser said no to having sex with him was acquitted of rape charges by a court in western Sweden.
The man told the court that the woman said no at least two times and that he had to force her legs apart when the two had sex, reports the newspaper Metro.
In explaining its ruling, the district court in Mölndal cited the fact that the woman had stripped down to a bra and panties and laid beside the man.
The court claims that she then behaved in a way that could have allowed the man to believe she had changed her mind.
The court also found holes in the woman’s story.
For example, she claimed to have received scratches and bruises, but doctors found none when examining her following the alleged rape.
In addition, the woman waited until the following evening to report the man to police.
The woman’s lawyer, Pia Liljeblad-Ryberg, feels the ruling is wrong.
“Madness,” she said following the court’s decision to acquit.
The case will likely be appealed.
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The man told the court that the woman said no at least two times and that he had to force her legs apart when the two had sex, reports the newspaper Metro.
In explaining its ruling, the district court in Mölndal cited the fact that the woman had stripped down to a bra and panties and laid beside the man.
The court claims that she then behaved in a way that could have allowed the man to believe she had changed her mind.
The court also found holes in the woman’s story.
For example, she claimed to have received scratches and bruises, but doctors found none when examining her following the alleged rape.
In addition, the woman waited until the following evening to report the man to police.
The woman’s lawyer, Pia Liljeblad-Ryberg, feels the ruling is wrong.
“Madness,” she said following the court’s decision to acquit.
The case will likely be appealed.
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