Father accused of sexually abusing two daughters gets 'good conduct abatement'
ISTANBUL
An Istanbul court has applied “good conduct abatement” for a father convicted on charges of sexually abusing his two daughters due to “his positive behavior during the trial process,” Demirören News Agency reported on July 16.
The father, 37, stood trial on charges of sexually abusing two of his daughters, aged nine and 11, on more than one occasion.
The incident came to light after the two girls went to a police station in 2017 and said they were threatened by their father who had reportedly told them if they ever spoke of these abuses to anyone, he would kill their mother.
The police then reached the mother, who reportedly told the officials that she was not aware of the abuses, filing a criminal complaint against the father.
One of the evidence found against the man was the existence of semen stain spotted on one the girls’ sleepsuit, but the defendant only known by the initials E.S. denied the charges.
The Istanbul 8th Heavy Penalty Court first handed down a sentence of 37.5 years in prison for the man, but after taking into consideration his “good manners and behaviors” in court, it reduced the sentence to 31 years and three months.
Exercising good conduct abatement, especially for those convicted of child abusers, is a widely criticized topic in Turkey. Back in January, then-Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya told daily Hürriyet in an interview that “exercising good conduct abatement for child abusers and those committing violence against women will be abolished.”
