Rowing coach was sentenced by the Thessaloniki Joint Circuit Court of 6.5 years in prison for sexual acts with his 16 -year -old athlete.

He was found unanimously guilty of abusing a minor in unkindness (felony) and insulting a minor (misdemeanor). By the same ruling, the judges, regular and lay people, acquitted him of the act of rape (they considered that the sexual acts were made by the consent of the sufferer or did not contradict the herself), as well as for persistent monitoring of the minor (with his thinking, but not in mind).

The 41 -year -old defendant was granted, by a majority, the mitigating of the earlier legal life, while the appeal was decided to have a suspensive effect on the execution of the sentence under the following terms: Payment of a guarantee of 20,000 euros, appearance twice a month in the area of unsecured place.

The case took the path of justice after a lawsuit filed by the athlete’s parents when she found the courage to confess to them what she was experiencing. The complainant acts, according to the indictment, occurred in 2022 when the passion was 16 years old.

The trial was held in camera and lasted for more than two months. The athlete appeared before the judges repeating what was happening on the sidelines of training and racing.

For his part, the 41 -year -old coach – who was removed after the disclosure of the rowing club – refused to apologize to the indictment and, among other things, allegedly claimed to have been a victim of a fracture.