He pays the prostitute with a counterfeit note and receives a rape conviction. It happened in Antwerp, Belgium, where a man received a three-year suspended sentence, with the obligation to undergo psychotherapy and periodic tests to demonstrate that he no longer uses drugs.
Regulated prostitution in Belgium and complaints for non-payment
Belgium is a country where prostitution is regulated and it is not uncommon for Belgian prostitutes to decide to take clients to court for non-payment.
Unprecedented sentence: failure to pay as lack of consent
But for the first time, refusal to pay, or falsification of a payment receipt, is being treated in court as lack of consent to sex and therefore as rape.
The deception with the banking app and fake bank transfers
In its ruling, the court found that the customer deliberately deceived the victim by pretending to make a transfer via his banking app after she had asked to be paid in advance.
Six episodes with the same woman and use of fake screenshots
This happened six times with the same woman, and each time he showed her his phone with an unsigned transfer or a screenshot of a previously made payment, the judges said.
The accused’s version: “I was on cocaine”
The defendant, a Bulgarian citizen in his thirties, told the court that he had acted under the influence of cocaine.