Facts
The appellant X. was accused of having raped the then 17-year-old [A.] and coerced her into further sexual acts on July 16, 2005. The first instance judgment of the District Court of Sense was issued on March 18, 2008. X. claims that the statute of limitations for these offenses to the detriment of [A.] has expired.
The Cantonal Court of Fribourg and the Federal Supreme Court concluded that, contrary to the wording of Art. 1 para. 2 lit. j of the Juvenile Criminal Justice Act, Art. 97 para. 3 of the Swiss Criminal Code is also valid in juvenile criminal law. Accordingly, the statute of limitations no longer applies if a first instance judgment has been rendered before the expiration of the statute of limitations. Since the first instance judgment against X. was already rendered on March 18, 2008, the statute of limitations has not expired.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that although Art. 1 para. 2 lit. j of the Juvenile Criminal Justice Act lists the provisions of the Swiss Criminal Code that are applicable mutatis mutandis in juvenile criminal law, the non-mention of Art. 97 para. 3 of the Swiss Criminal Code is not due to a legislative oversight.
The court sees a genuine gap in the law, as the Juvenile Criminal Justice Act does not regulate the…