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He abused his daughter for 18 years, was caught red-handed, and was acquitted

Nilay Esmer was subjected to sexual abuse by her father, Erdoğan Esmer, for 18 years. The legal process began in 2022 when the gendarmerie caught the father in the act. Erdoğan Esmer, who was sentenced to 13 years and 1 month in prison by the local court, was released by the Court of Appeal on the grounds that the "crime was not proven." In a second case filed against him, Erdoğan Esmer was tried for "child sexual abuse" and was acquitted for the second time in a single hearing. Nilay continues her struggle and appeals to the public: "I was abused by my own father, I want to be seen."

Sinem Nazlı Demir

 

NEWS AND INTERVIEW: Sinem Nazlı Demir

Nilay Esmer was subjected to sexual abuse by her father, Erdoğan Esmer, from the age of 7 until she was 25. Following the gendarmerie's intervention in 2022, where the father was caught in the act, a lawsuit was filed against him for the crime of sexual abuse of a child. Subsequently, in the case opened against Erdoğan Esmer, the Diyarbakır 2nd High Criminal Court sentenced him to 7 years in prison on September 15, 2022, for the crime of "simple sexual assault." The sentence was increased to 10 years and 6 months because the crime was committed against his own daughter.

FATHER CAUGHT RED-HANDED IS ACQUITTED

The court further increased the sentence by taking into account that the act was committed against the same person multiple times at different intervals, sentencing the defendant to a total of 13 years, 1 month, and 15 days in prison. However, the 7th Criminal Chamber of the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Justice issued an acquittal and release order on November 23, 2022, despite him having been caught red-handed and arrested by the gendarmerie, on the grounds that "it could not be definitively proven that the charged crime was committed by the defendant." In the second case filed with the charge of "child sexual abuse," the Diyarbakır 6th High Criminal Court also issued an acquittal for Erdoğan Esmer on January 14, 2025, in the very first hearing, without even hearing the testimony of Nilay Esmer's mother.

Reporter's note: This news report contains elements that may be triggering for some of our readers.

 “THE GENDARMERIE CAUGHT HIM RED-HANDED INSIDE THE CAR”

 Nilay Esmer, who was subjected to abuse for 18 years, wants to make her voice heard by the public and draw attention to the injustices experienced in her case. Nilay Esmer recounted the abuse that began when she was 7 years old and how this crime was uncovered to 12punto:

 “I was sexually abused by my own father from the age of 7 until I was 25. Out of fear of him, I couldn't tell anyone. I wanted to tell my mother so much, but I couldn't. He also used violence against me, so I kept it all inside. This abuse continued until I was 25, in February 2022, when the gendarmerie caught him red-handed inside the car. That moment was my salvation. Everything I had lived through until I was 25 ended. The gendarmerie seeing us was my salvation. They asked, 'Who is this?' and when I said 'my father,' they moved him away from me. And the legal process began for both of us. They took us to the police station, and I said there that I wanted to file a complaint. Then my aunt came to me; I felt safe, I thought she would be by my side. Then they sent me to a shelter, and they arrested him and sent him to prison. My uncle came and picked me up from the shelter. But no one from my father's side told anyone that he had gone to prison for this crime; they told everyone he had gone to prison for drugs. They told me, 'Nilay, don't let your name be tarnished, we live in a small place,' and they silenced me. They acted as if they were on my and my mother's side, and they pretended to be supporting me.”

 "THEIR LAWYER FORCED ME TO SAY 'I AM NOT A COMPLAINANT'"

Explaining that her father's side and his lawyer regularly manipulated her during the trial process, Nilay Esmer stated that the opposing lawyer forced her to say, "I am not a complainant."

"During that process, my mother and I didn't know what to do. A lawyer was hired for him before the first hearing date, but not for me. His lawyer said, 'Since Nilay was over 18 on the day the gendarmerie saw them, her father will not receive a sentence.' They tried to pressure us, and we didn't realize it at the time. Later, they said, 'Let's not ruin Nilay's reputation, her future will be harmed, let her withdraw her complaint, Erdoğan will get out of prison, go far away, and never come back.' My mother and I thought, 'Let's withdraw our complaint, he won't come near us anyway.' Later, the lawyer they hired took me to the prosecutor with my aunt and forced me to tell the prosecutor, 'I am withdrawing my complaint.' They wanted me to say, 'I consented to it as well.'"

I went into the prosecutor's office and said this, and the prosecutor said, 'It is obvious that you were brought here by force; the file has already left my hands.' And then my uncle, aunt, and grandfather started calling my mother and saying, 'Nilay will withdraw her complaint. We are relatives; this incident will turn into a blood feud. We will kill each other.' They started to apply psychological violence to us more and more."

"THE COURT OF APPEAL RELEASED HIM"

 Describing what happened during the hearing process, Nilay Esmer recounted how Erdoğan Esmer was acquitted by the Court of Appeal after the prison sentence given by the local court with these words:

 "I attended the first hearing via SEGBİS (Audio and Visual Information System). Under their pressure, I said that I was not a complainant and that I did not want to attend subsequent hearings. The court panel sentenced him to 13 years. When I heard that sentence, my mother and I were so relieved... I thought, 'I'm rid of that man.' After this sentence was given, his family, that is, those who were in contact with us, completely cut off communication. The people who were supposedly trying to support us did not speak to us at all. It turns out they were working to take the file to the Court of Appeal. In a short period of 2 months, a new lawyer was hired for the other side. They sent the file to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal overturned the decision and acquitted him. I found out he was released by chance while checking my E-devlet account. I called my lawyer, and he said, 'Your father has been acquitted, don't you know?'" he said."

"MY GRANDFATHER SAID, 'THESE THINGS HAPPEN IN EVERY FAMILY'"

Nilay Esmer, who was forced to hide the fact that her father abused her from her mother's relatives for years, described the moment they decided to tell her mother's relatives what had happened after her father returned home following his release:

“Then we called my uncle, and he told us, 'I am not getting involved in your family affairs.' My grandfather said, 'She will stay with us for a few days and then come back to your house.' But how were we supposed to manage in the same house? Wasn't he supposed to not return? I started thinking, 'Is he going to make me live through the same things again?' I was scared. Then he called my mother and said, 'I am out of prison, I am coming back home.' My mother said, 'We don't want you, we will call the police.' He replied, 'That is my house, and if I don't kill all of you when I get there, then you'll see.' After a while, his parents brought him back home. My grandfather said, 'These things happen in every family.' My grandmother said, 'He has no home, where else should he go?' Later, my mother called my uncles. At that time, they still thought he was going in and out of prison for drugs. We packed our things and went to my grandmother's house together. We felt safe there. My mother told them everything; she said that he had actually gone to prison because of the abuse he inflicted on me. That was the breaking point. My uncles said they were on my side and started fighting for us. We filed separate lawsuits for both the divorce case and for my own case. A new court process began, as the first one had already closed and the Court of Cassation had rejected our appeal.”

 THE JUDGE WHO GRANTED ACQUITTAL IN THE FIRST HEARING OF THE SECOND CASE: 'I CANNOT LISTEN TO THIS MANY WITNESSES'

 In the second case file, the presiding judge did not even hear Nilay Esmer's mother as a witness and issued an acquittal decision at the first hearing.

Nilay Esmer described the process she went through by saying, "This situation affected us deeply."

“The first hearing of the second court was held in January 2025, and the presiding judge had a harsh attitude. He didn't even listen to my mother as a witness. The judge said, 'I cannot listen to this many witnesses,' and rejected my mother's testimony. My aunt said in her testimony, 'Nilay didn't tell me anything,' and my uncle said, 'I have no knowledge of such an incident.' In fact, they knew everything. The judge issued an acquittal decision directly at the first hearing due to lack of evidence. This situation affected us deeply. When he was acquitted for the second time, we wanted to make our voices heard on social media this time. We thought, 'At least let a positive decision come from the Court of Appeals,' but it still wasn't enough, and the Court of Appeals acquitted him again for the second case we filed. Our file is currently at the Court of Cassation. I hope the result will be in my favor this time.”

“I WROTE A LETTER TO THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, NO ONE REACHED OUT TO ME”

Nilay Esmer hopes that the struggle she has been waging for years will be known by the public and that a positive decision will emerge from the second case file. Nilay Esmer, who also stated that she had written a letter to the Ministry of Justice, emphasized that she had received no response whatsoever.

"This is injustice. We are trying to make our voices heard. He stalked us persistently, sent photos of himself with a weapon, and insulted us. A case regarding these actions was also heard. He was acquitted of the sexual abuse charges in two months, but this case regarding threats and stalking has been pending in the Court of Appeal for 20 months. Those who should really see me are not reaching out to me. They do not see me. No one has reached out to me. I wrote and sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice. I want to be seen now. No one should remain silent. This is not something one can stay silent about. Everything these people do goes unpunished. No one should remain silent."

 


Editor's Note

In 2023, 242,875 children who came to or were brought to security units were recorded as victims. Approximately 11.8% of these children were recorded as victims of sexual crimes. In the same year, approximately 25,700 children were recorded under the category of sexual abuse.

According to TUIK (Turkish Statistical Institute) data, while the number of children who were victims of sexual abuse was 11,095 in 2014, this number was recorded as 31,890 in 2022.

In 2023, 40,713 new files were opened for the crime of "child sexual abuse," and proceedings were initiated against 36,275 suspects.

Between 2015 and 2023, the index of child sexual abuse files showed a 94% increase.

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