The Riga District Court will continue the criminal case in which artist and long-time lecturer at the Latvian Academy of Arts (LAA) Peteris Postajs is accused of sexual violence against underage girls committed more than 30 years ago, on February 17, 2026, at 10:00, reports LETA.
The hearing of the Postajs case is taking place behind closed doors. As previously reported by the Baltic Center for Investigative Journalism Re:Baltica, the first-instance court found the artist guilty of raping a minor, committing lewd acts with a person under 16, and engaging in sexual intercourse with a person under 16. Postajs was sentenced to three years in prison.
The defendant did not plead guilty in court and has appealed the verdict. The prosecution and the victims have also done the same.
According to Re:Baltica, several women are involved in the case, claiming they were sexually abused by Postajs during their childhood. The victims found each other and filed police reports in 2022, more than 30 years after the incidents.
The women stated that the sexual abuse occurred in their childhood and manifested in an acclimatization to "inappropriate" touches and manipulations. The artist allegedly also offered the girls to touch his penis and involved the victims in sexual contacts, including satisfying his sexual desires.
Among the victims are the granddaughters of Postajs's wife and girls whom he taught to paint. The women's stories indicate that several decades ago, using his authority, Postajs threatened not to accept them into the Latvian Academy of Arts (LAA) if they did not come to the artist's studio, reports the Baltic Center for Investigative Journalism Re:Baltica.
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