Α mixed jurist-jury appellate-level court in Thessaloniki on Tuesday handed down a 19.5-year sentence to a 37-year-old woman after confirming a lower court’s verdicts on felony charges of abduction and sexual assault against a 37-year-old, in a rare – for Greece – case involving the kidnapping and rape of a minor.
The defendant, Eirini M., who was previously convicted in a first instance trial, was arrested in June 2020 days after tricking a 11-year-old schoolgirl into coming with her after the end of classes at a Thessaloniki-area primary school.
The case received extensive press and social media exposure in the east Mediterranean country.
The girl was subsequently freed, with the arrest following only days later. According to reports, the suspect and victim briefly lived in the same apartment building, with the latter subsequently identifying her attacker.
Among the other felony charges upheld by the appellate court were drug possession and procurement, as well as exposing the victim to danger – ostensibly for giving her narcotic substances.
No extenuating circumstances were cited by the criminal court. The first instance court conviction carried a sentence of 21 years and seven months.
The defendant remained jailed after the initial conviction.
Another defendant, a 44-year-old man, was handed down a suspended two-year sentence on a misdemeanor charge of failing to report a crime. Prosecutors maintained he knew of the abduction and failed to alert authorities.
