He will be free in 10 years! 'Good conduct' reduction for abuse in religious dormitory

A 'good conduct' reduction was applied to the sentence of a 'course instructor' who sexually abused a 12-year-old child at a boys' dormitory belonging to the Süleymancılar community in Ordu.

The defendant's 48-year prison sentence was reduced to 22 years and 16 months. 

"THE ABUSE WAS NOT LIMITED TO A SINGLE INCIDENT..."

According to a report by Onur Durmuş from BirGün; a 12-year-old child staying at the Private Madenler Secondary Boys' Dormitory, which belongs to the Süleymancılar community in Fatsa, was subjected to sexual abuse by the 'course instructor' Y.K. on November 3, 2021. After the child told his family about what he had experienced, his parents met with the dormitory manager and Y.K. Allegedly, during this meeting, Y.K. told the family, "I gave in to the devil, I prostrated and prayed in the evening, please forgive me." The victim's family filed a complaint against the perpetrator Y.K. on the day the incident occurred. 

The Fatsa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office prepared an indictment against Y.K. on November 4, 2021, on charges of 'child sexual abuse' and 'deprivation of liberty'. The trial began at the Fatsa High Criminal Court, which accepted the indictment. The court concluded that the abuse was not limited to a single incident and had been ongoing for a long time. On February 9, 2022, the court sentenced Y.K. to a total of 48 years in prison. 

APPEALS COURT OVERTURNED, SUPREME COURT UPHELD

The defendant's lawyers appealed this decision. The Samsun Regional Court of Justice 3rd Criminal Chamber, which heard the case, overturned the verdict on May 13, 2022, arguing that the "sentence was too harsh," and sent the file back to the lower court. The court, which restarted the trial, heard the witnesses and the victimized children again. In its second ruling on June 17, 2022, the Fatsa High Criminal Court sentenced the defendant Y.K. to 48 years in prison again. The court did not apply any reduction to the sentence. 

The appellate court overturned the second decision of the Fatsa High Criminal Court on December 21, 2022. This time, the Samsun Regional Court of Justice 3rd Criminal Chamber applied a 1/6 'good conduct' reduction to the sentence. The defendant was sentenced to 22 years and 16 months in prison. The reason for the reduction was cited as "the defendant's social relations, his behavior during the trial process after the abuse, and the potential effects of the sentence on the defendant." The Supreme Court of Appeals also upheld the final decision of the appellate court in the child sexual abuse case on September 4. Thus, Y.K. was sentenced to a total of 22 years and 16 months in prison, consisting of 16 years and 8 months for the crime of "simple sexual abuse" and 6 years and 8 months for "deprivation of liberty." 

FREE IN 2033

The defendant Y.K., who was arrested 2 days after the abuse incident on November 3, 2021, and has been held in the Ünye M-Type Closed Prison for approximately 770 days, will be released in 2033 according to the execution calculation.