A survey recently went viral in which the majority of women, when asked whether they would rather encounter a bear or a man in the forest, gave preference to Europe’s largest land-dwelling predator – the bear, in other words. It’s possible that Jiri R. (name changed) would decide the same way today: In a state of emotional distress, an unknown man approached him at the central bus station, lured him into his apartment – and raped him. The district court has now imposed a two-year prison sentence on the perpetrator, which is suspended.
The session at the district court was unusual in two respects: It is rare for a man to be the victim of rape. Secondly, the court also had to deal with the question of when a rape is a rape. By legal definition, this is linked to the penetration of a body orifice.
Marcin B. is a simple man who regularly travels from Poland to Germany to work as a 24-hour geriatric nurse. He admits the crime through his defense attorney Benedikt Stehle. He says he deeply regrets it, that he had a difficult time at the time – and that he drank a lot of alcohol.
On March 2, 2023, the 35-year-old spoke to Jiri R. at the central bus station, who was waiting for his bus to Belarus. Jiri R. seemed a bit desolate, having argued with his girlfriend and having drunk half a bottle of vodka. Marcin B. offered him to come to his apartment, take a quick shower and rest.
They went into the apartment in Maxvorstadt, drank a beer and Jiri R. lay down. He woke up suddenly when he noticed that his host was giving his penis oral sex. Jiri R. jumped up, left the house cursing, marked the front door with his bag and called the police.
“It was an unpleasant feeling,” the Belarusian told the police. For him, “these areas” were something foreign. But was an “unpleasant feeling” enough to classify the act as a particularly degrading act, as rape, asked attorney Stehle in his plea.
Yes, the jury ruled. And with the relevant paragraph, it makes “no difference whose body is penetrated” anyway. B. accepted the verdict in the courtroom.