Sexual Acts with a Child: Rejection of the Request for a Credibility Assessment

Facts

The appellant [X.] is accused of having touched and stimulated the penis of the then 12-year-old [A.] with his hand three times in the bed of his bedroom between 20 November 2009 and 24 March 2010. In one case, [X.] is also said to have taken the penis of the respondent into his mouth. The High Court of the Canton of Zug found [X.] guilty of multiple sexual acts with a child and sentenced him to a suspended custodial sentence of 14 months. [X.] appeals against this judgment in criminal matters.

Considerations

The Federal Court considers the restriction of the appellant's right of confrontation to be justified, as a direct confrontation with the respondent could have led to a great psychological burden for the latter. The audiovisual transmission of the questioning and the possibility for the appellant to ask the respondent questions through his counsel were sufficient compensatory measures.

The Federal Court considers the assessment of the evidence by the lower court to be comprehensible. The lower court has analysed the…