Four teenage immigrants found guilty of gang raping a woman in the Netherlands have been jailed for up to just 15 months, Dutch media report.
The perpetrators, aged between 16 and 18, carried out the attack on the 33-year-old victim in a park in the southern city of Helmond in December 2023.
The woman, who was homeless, was sat alone on a bench before being surrounded by the group and dragged to a grassy field.
There they threw her to the ground, beat her and brutally raped her, according to the media outlet NRC. His mobile phone was also stolen.
The teens, described as “unaccompanied alien minors,” were sentenced Monday and sentenced to terms in a juvenile detention center because of their age.
Police officers reportedly found the woman partially naked and with her nose and jaw swollen following the brutal attack.
The sentences imposed on the aggressors, three of whom are conditional, are much less than the two years demanded by prosecutors.
In its ruling, the Den Bosch court reportedly declared that young people needed “guidance” on how to navigate Dutch society.
The woman was sitting alone on a park bench before being surrounded by the group and dragged to a grassy field. In the photo: Burgemeester Geukerspark in Helmond
The verdict, described as lenient, took into account the “lack of supervision and guidance” offered to the perpetrators.
The court admitted that such a vile act “evokes feelings of disgust and indignation in society and, in particular, feelings of insecurity among women.”
The conditional element of the sentence is expected to deter teenagers from reoffending, the judge said.
The group was also ordered to jointly pay 15,000 euros in damages to the victim.
A fifth suspect was found guilty of assaulting the woman and sentenced to four months in youth detention.
The trial took place behind closed doors due to the age of the perpetrators at the time of the attack.