Rotterdam student raped by flatmate, perpetrator sentenced to three years in prison

A law student was raped by a flatmate in her student room in Rotterdam early last year. This week, the perpetrator was sentenced to three years in prison, six months of which suspended. He was also given an order prohibiting contact, as the AD reports.

The international student still gets nightmares about it, she wrote in her victim impact statement. Last January, when she had just moved to Rotterdam, she was brutally raped in her room by her flatmate Md S., also an international student. He had been making remarks with sexual overtones for some time. After he claimed he had a letter for her and she let him into her room, he raped her vaginally and anally. Her vehement protests were futile.

The court ruled that there was sufficient evidence of rape, including a tissue stained with blood and semen the victim had kept. In addition, her very detailed statements were determined to be factual.

Accusations

“Hearing the words ‘if you get pregnant, I will laugh at you and you can’t do anything about it, because you’re a woman and nobody will believe you’ while being raped still gives me nightmares”, reads the student’s victim impact statement. “I didn’t know this kind of evil existed. This is a very dangerous person.”

Md S. denied the rape and made several accusations towards the victim throughout the criminal proceedings. Among other things, he claimed that the student had hit him. “We were friends with benefits, but I made clear that I didn’t want things to go any further. She gets angry and emotional easily”, he stated in court. In its sentencing, the court held these accusations against him.