Court of Cassation ruling on 'kissing on the cheek': 2 years and 1 month prison sentence had been handed down

A man who kissed his wife's friend on the cheek was sentenced to prison for 'sexual assault by molestation.' Evaluating the appeal filed by the defendant's lawyer, the Court of Cassation found the 2-year-and-1-month prison sentence excessive, noting that the act of kissing on the cheek was short-lived, sudden, and intermittent.

A woman identified as L.Z. dropped her daughter off at a friend's house. A short while later, S.T., who had followed L.Z., kissed the young woman on the cheek and said, 'Your cheek is sweet.' Upon the young woman's complaint, a lawsuit was filed against S.T. for 'sexual assault.' The court announced that, having reached the conscientious conviction that the defendant committed the crime of sexual assault, he was sentenced to 2 years and 1 month in prison and deprived of certain rights, in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 102, the first paragraph of Article 62, and the first paragraph of Article 53 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237.

The defendant's lawyer appealed the decision, claiming that the act did not take place, that the alleged location and time did not allow for the crime to be committed, that no on-site inspection was conducted, that the defendant had no prior criminal record for similar offenses, that the witnesses had no first-hand knowledge, and that the conviction was handed down without concrete evidence.

The 9th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation found the sentence given to the defendant excessive. The ruling stated the following:

"Based on the entire file, it was found to be against the law to impose an excessive sentence by failing to consider that the defendant's act, which was proven to be grabbing the adult victim and kissing her on the cheek on the day of the incident, constitutes the crime of sexual assault by molestation as regulated in the second sentence of the first paragraph of Article 102 of Law No. 5237, due to the fact that the act was short-lived, sudden, and intermittent. Since the appeal request of the defendant's counsel was found to be well-founded, it was decided by unanimous vote to overturn the verdict."

News Source: İHA