The event happened on Thursday evening, July 16, on a bike path near the Hornád river in Košice. A teenager attacked a woman, but did not complete the rape. Therefore, his actions will be classified as an attempted crime.
Investigators identified the suspect and arrested him a few hours after the attack, Korzár reports. He tried to escape during the arrest. The investigator charged him with attempted rape and asked for him to be taken into custody. The prosecution supported the request, and the judge granted it. Therefore, the teenager will be in custody during the investigation, writes Aktuality.sk.
Why the police are saying almost nothing
Who the victim is, how exactly everything happened, or if there were witnesses – law enforcement is not revealing this. The official reason: to protect the victim and avoid re-victimization. This is standard practice for the Slovak police in cases of sexual violence, so new details are unlikely to be released to the media in the future.
What the minor faces
Under Slovak law, the 16-year-old accused belongs to the category of "mladistvý," meaning a minor aged 14 to 18. For such individuals, punishments are milder than for adults: imprisonment is only imposed in exceptional cases, and the main goal of the proceedings is considered education and resocialization, lawyers explain.
For comparison: for an adult, the Criminal Code of Slovakia provides for five to ten years of imprisonment for rape without aggravating circumstances. This case involves an attempt, and it was committed by a minor, so the actual sentence, if found guilty, will be significantly lower. At the same time, the very fact that the court approved custody for the teenager indicates that the investigation is taking the case seriously.
What you should know
The bike path along the Hornád is a popular place for evening walks and runs in Košice. If you witness or are a victim of a crime in Slovakia, call 158 (police) or 112 (single emergency number). You can file a report in any language, and the police are required to provide an interpreter.
