Scandalous acquittal in abuse case
The indictment was prepared within a year, but the perpetrators were not arrested. The court ruled to acquit the defendants, saying, ‘The child looked older, they did not know her age.’
Another controversial decision has been made in a child abuse case. On August 3, 2023, a 16-year-old girl posted on her social media account, “Does anyone want to come to Aqua Florya (shopping mall) in Istanbul?” Fatih P., 26, and Sait A., 24, contacted the child and went to the shopping mall.
According to the indictment, while sitting in a café, Fatih P. and Sait A. offered the child a drink, saying, “I have a drink called Green Fairy. Would you like to try it?” They then took the child to their home, gave her alcohol, and administered a “triangular pill with ridges.” The child, who was reportedly unconscious, was subjected to sexual abuse.
While Fatih P. and Sait A. were asleep, the child left the house and called his friend Eren. Eren told the child, who said he was stranded on the street, that his friend Harun T. was there and could come and pick him up.
Hakan T., 24, took the child to a shop. Hakan T.'s cousin, Harun T., 28, was also in the shop. Hakan and Harun T. sexually abused the child there. The child sent his location to his father and asked for help. The father went to the location sent by the child, accompanied by police officers. At this point, upon hearing the child say that his “heart was beating very fast and he was having difficulty breathing,” Hakan and Harun T. opened the door and took the child out of the shop. When the child saw his father in front of him as he left the shop, he was taken to a police vehicle, and police teams searched the shop.
On the instructions of the prosecutor's office, searches were also carried out at the homes of Fatih P. and Sait A. Crime scene investigation teams took samples from the carpet, sofa, and condoms. After the samples were examined at the Criminal Police Laboratories Directorate, it was determined that the sperm samples belonged to the suspects.
ALL DEFENDANTS RELEASED
No defendants were arrested during the investigation. The Bakırköy 4th Criminal Court of Peace released the suspects on judicial control, and the indictment was prepared approximately one year after the incident, on July 2, 2024. The four defendants were charged with “deprivation of liberty and sexual abuse of a child.”
At the second hearing of the case on January 15, 2025, the four defendants, two of whom were married with children, were acquitted. Although the prosecutor requested that all defendants be punished at the hearing, the Bakırköy 23rd Heavy Criminal Court panel justified the acquittal by stating, “The defendants are not guilty of the crime attributed to them.”
At the second hearing of the case on January 15, 2025, four defendants, two of whom were married with children, were acquitted. Although the prosecutor requested that all defendants be punished, the Bakırköy 23rd Heavy Penal Court explained the reason for the acquittal as follows: "There is no legal, conclusive, sufficient, and convincing concrete evidence that is free from all doubt and sufficient to convict the defendants of the crimes they are accused of... In our court's own observation, the victim appeared to be 1-2 years older than her actual age..."
THE APPEAL COURT OVERTURNED THE ACQUITTAL DECISION
The public prosecutor appealed the decision and referred the case to the Court of Appeal. On March 24, 2025, the 20th Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice decided to reject the appeal against Hakan and Harun T. on its merits and to overturn the acquittal rulings against Sait A. and Fatih P.
THE SAME COURT AGAIN ACQUITTED
After the Court of Appeals overturned the decision, the case was sent back to the Bakırköy 23rd Heavy Criminal Court. At the hearing on July 1, 2025, the public prosecutor again requested that the two defendants be punished.
However, the court once again acquitted the defendants. The reasoning behind the decision was explained as follows: “The defendants were unaware of the child's age and therefore lacked criminal intent...”
THE DEFENDANTS SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED AT LEAST 15 YEARS IN PRISON
Attorney Murat Ustabaşı, who evaluated the trial process, said the following:
“While the prosecutor’s opinion calls for punishment for aggravated sexual abuse of a child, the court rules for acquittal. What is surprising here is that the court claims that the victim appears to be older than her age, but states this in 2025, meaning that the victim will be 18 when the incident occurred in 2023. We cannot understand how the court made this mistake, and this situation is a complete legal absurdity. The fact that the defendants were acquitted despite deserving at least 15 years in prison will undermine the victim's and society's faith in justice."
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled İstismar davasında skandal beraat kararı, published in BirGün newspaper on July 24, 2025.
