Former Turkish Cypriot police officer sentenced to more than 5 years in prison for sexually abusing a teenager

A Turkish Cypriot police officer who was accused of sexually abusing an under age child in 2022 has been sentenced to 5 years and nine months in prison after he was found guilty by a court in Girne, north Cyprus.

The incident happened in Lapta in 2022 when the defendant, Eren Balçık, sexually abused a 16-year-old girl in a gym.

The police said the defendant also had pending cases for fraud and swindling.

The decision was announced on Tuesday April 22 following his trial at the Girne High Criminal Court.

Announcing the judgement, the judge stated that the defendant, whose main profession is a police officer, was on the loose due to a fraud crime that occurred in 2020, and that he was a contracted sports instructor at Tekin Adalı Sports Facilities belonging to Lapta Municipality in 2022 when he committed the crime of sexual abuse. 

The judge stated that the defendant sexually abused a girl under the age of 16 who had just registered to the gym by telling her that he would take her body measurements in the office, forcing her to take off her clothes. The defendant then ordered the girl not to tell anyone about what happened.

The judge stated that the incident came to light when the child told her guidance counselor what she had experienced.

Pointing out that the crime of sexual abuse committed by the defendant had increased when the courts' annual activity reports were examined, the judge underlined that the punishment for such crimes should be deterrent and soothe the conscience of society.

The judge announced that they sentenced the defendant to 5 years and 9 months in prison.