The Riga Regional Court sentenced painter and lecturer at the Art Academy of Latvia (LMA) Pēteris Postažs to ten years in prison for sexual abuse of young girls committed more than 30 years ago, according to the LETA news agency.
The court of first instance found artist Pēteris Postažs, a longtime lecturer at the Art Academy of Latvia (LMA), guilty of raping a minor more than 30 years ago and of committing indecent acts with a person under the age of 16. The court of first instance sentenced Postažs to three years’ probation. The man appealed the verdict, as did the prosecutor’s office and the victims.
The investigative journalism centre “Re:Baltica” reported that the case involves several women who claim to have experienced sexual abuse by Postažs during their childhood. The victims found each other and filed statements with the police in 2022, more than 30 years after the events occurred.
Among the victims are both Postažs’ wife’s granddaughters and girls whom he taught to paint. According to the women’s accounts, decades ago, Postažs used his authority to threaten that they would not be admitted to the Latvian Academy of Art if they did not come to the artist’s studio.
On Tuesday, April 7, not only the prosecutor and the defence attorney but also all four victims spoke during the court proceedings.
The court then heard the defendant’s final statement and, after a 50-minute deliberation, handed down its verdict.
The court decided to partially overturn the Rīga District Court’s verdict, which had sentenced Postažs to a three-year suspended prison sentence, and in the overturned portion imposed an actual prison sentence of eight years and six months.
The final sentence was determined by partially combining the imposed sentences, resulting in a total prison sentence of ten years.
The court also awarded each victim a higher amount of moral damages from Postažs than had been decided by the court of first instance.
The date for the full judgment to be made available is currently set for April 21st. The judgment has not yet taken effect and may be appealed within ten business days through the cassation process.
Postažs’ case was heard in closed sessions.
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