A police officer has been given a 15-month suspended prison sentence for sexually assaulting a woman while off-duty at the popular Picadilly wine and dance festival last summer.

The verdict, seen by the Luxemburger Wort, was handed down by a court just before the start of the official summer recess, and also contains an order for the man to pay a fine of €5,000 and an additional €3,000 in compensation to the victim.

The court rejected the defence’s claim for diminished responsibility due to alcohol intoxication, ruling that the defendant’s condition was self-inflicted and did not diminish his responsibility.

The victim did not know the perpetrator, known as Jean-Paul W., when the attack happened on 10 August last year, the court heard.

The victim told investigators that the man approached her from behind and hugged her, and that she initially thought it was her boyfriend.

Only when her companions intervened did she realise what was happening and she tried to resist him, but the man did not stop. He grabbed her breasts, causing her top to slip, and then her hips, buttocks, and between her legs.

The defendant only stopped when a friend of the woman called a security guard.

Defendant could not recall events

A police officer who attended confirmed to investigators that the suspect was highly intoxicated and was swaying and slurring his speech. However, the officer stated that he was still able to comprehend what was happening, and a breathalyser test was not conducted.

During interrogation, the defendant stated that he was shocked by the accusations.

He claimed that he always behaved appropriately, even when intoxicated, but could only recall fragments of the evening.

He said he had drunk a glass of gin and tonic before leaving his apartment and a bottle of Picadilly wine later that evening, and that was all her remembered of the night in question.

The victim had identified Jean-Paul W. as the perpetrator and said that she had immediately pointed out his unacceptable behaviour to him after the assault, to which he had merely grinned.

While the defendant did not deny the statements of the victim and the witnesses, he said that because he had no memory of anything, he could not claim that they were lying.

The verdict is not yet final and all parties can appeal the judgment within 40 days. Until the verdict becomes final, the presumption of innocence applies.

Last year over 18,000 people attended the annual three-day Picadilly festival, named after the wine-like drink Picadilly, which has been held since 1957 in the Moselle village.

Another reported attack at same festival

In a separate case at the same festival last summer, a 17-year-old girl reported being raped by a man a day after the attack in which the police officer was convicted.

The case remains unsolved, and on 22 July this year, the investigation was provisionally suspended.

There are still no clues as to the perpetrator’s identity and the investigating judge has exhausted all available means to identify a suspect, a spokesperson for the public prosecutor’s office told the Luxemburger Wort on Wednesday.

The main reason is the lack of witness statements that could have contributed to the investigation.

The alleged victim has objected in writing to the discontinuation of the proceedings.

“The attorney general’s Office will now thoroughly review the case again and then decide whether to reopen the investigation,” the spokesperson said.

If an order to discontinue the proceedings is confirmed, the case will no longer be actively pursued. However, new findings could lead to a reopening by the attorney general’s office at any time.

As part of a comprehensive reform of sexual offences law – passed in July 2023 – statutes of limitations for sexual crimes against minors were extended and, in some cases, even abolished.

The crime of rape of minors is now non-statutory – meaning there is no longer a statutory time limit after which the crime can no longer be prosecuted.

(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Translated using AI, with editing and adaptation by John Monaghan.)