The Riga District Court sentenced artist and teacher at the Latvian Academy of Arts Peteris Postazs to ten years in prison for sexual abuse of underage girls committed more than 30 years ago, the LETA agency learned in court.
Today, not only the prosecutor and the defense attorney spoke at the court session, but also four victims. After that, the court heard the final statement of the defendant and announced the verdict.
The court decided to partially overturn the decision of the Riga District Court, according to which Postazs had previously been sentenced to three years probation, and imposed a real prison sentence of eight years and six months for the overturned part. The final sentence was determined by partially adding the terms to which Postazs was sentenced, resulting in a total imprisonment period of ten years.
The court also ordered Postazs to pay each victim a larger moral compensation than was determined by the first instance court.
The verdict can be appealed within ten working days.
Postazs's case was heard in closed sessions. As previously reported by the Baltic Center for Investigative Journalism "Re:Baltica", the first instance court found the artist guilty of raping a minor girl, committing lewd acts with a person under the age of 16, and engaging in sexual relations with a person under the age of 16.
The defendant denied his guilt in court and appealed the verdict. The prosecution and the victims also appealed the court's decision.
According to "Re:Baltica", the victims in the case are several women who claim that they were sexually abused by Postazs in their childhood. The victims found each other and filed reports with the police in 2022, more than 30 years after the incidents occurred. Among those affected by Postazs's actions are the granddaughters of his wife and the girls he taught painting.
Leave a comment