Sexual assault case filed against AKP mayor: 'I resisted by biting his hand!'

It has emerged that Ordu Mesudiye Mayor Cengiz Koçyiğit, who was elected from the AKP in the March 31 Local Administration General Elections, is being tried on charges of sexual assault. 

An investigation was launched against the 50-year-old Koçyiğit by the Mesudiye Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on May 16, 2024, on the grounds that he had sexually assaulted a 27-year-old female municipal employee on multiple occasions.

According to the report by İsmail Arı from BirGün, the victim stated in her testimony that “she wanted to change her place of duty because she was uncomfortable with being assigned to the toilet cleaning unit, and therefore she contacted Cengiz Koçyiğit, who was a municipal council member at the time.” The woman explained that “she contacted him solely to move from the toilet unit to another department, that there was no intimacy or emotional connection between her and Koçyiğit, that Koçyiğit sexually assaulted her in the storage room, and that she had a lock installed on the storage room door because of this.”

'I RESISTED BY BITING HIS HAND' 

In her testimony, the woman said, “Due to the discomfort and fear caused by Koçyiğit’s sexual assault, and in order to put an end to these acts and create evidence, she hid a phone she received from a friend on March 18, the day of the final act, and recorded the moment of the sexual assault on video; she also stated that during the sexual assault, she said 'don't' and resisted by biting Koçyiğit’s hand.”

Mayor Cengiz Koçyiğit, in his statement, claimed that “he became intimate due to the closeness shown by the woman and that he does not accept the accusations.”

PROSECUTOR: THERE IS VIDEO RECORDING

In the indictment prepared by the Mesudiye Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on January 6, 2025, it was stated: “When the entire scope of the investigation file is evaluated, although the suspect has made statements denying the accusations against him, it is understood that there was no romantic relationship or consensual relationship between the complainant and the suspect; when the video recording taken by phone regarding the final act and the transcription report are examined, it is understood that the complainant did not give any consent.” The prosecutor requested that Mayor Koçyiğit be punished for the crime of “Chain-linked simple sexual assault.”

'I RESIGNED FROM THE AKP'

The Mesudiye Criminal Court of First Instance accepted the indictment on January 8. The trial will begin tomorrow.

Mayor Cengiz Koçyiğit, reached by BirGün, said, “I resigned from my party on December 31. I am continuing as an Independent Mayor. I resigned so that the party I am a member of, the council members, and myself would not be harmed. This process is not a process to be taken lightly. I intend to continue my mayorship independently until this case is concluded. I will not be a member of any party until I clear my name.”

Although Koçyiğit said, “I resigned from my party,” he attended the 8th Ordinary Grand Congress of the AKP held in Ankara on Sunday.