Facts
The complainant [X.] was convicted by the High Court of the Canton of Aargau for sexual acts with dependents. The conviction was based mainly on the statement of the victim [A.] , who is mentally disabled and was at the developmental stage of a primary school student in the fifth grade. The complainant had the opportunity to question the incriminating witness, but only at a very late stage of the proceedings and under circumstances that did not allow him to effectively exercise his rights of defense.
The High Court of the Canton of Aargau had considered the first statement of the incriminating witness to be admissible, although the latter had refused to answer supplementary questions from the complainant during a later interrogation. The complainant claimed that the High Court had thus violated his right to a fair trial.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the complainant's claim and came to the conclusion that the High Court of the Canton of Aargau had violated his right to a fair trial. The Federal Court found that the first statement of the incriminating witness was decisive for the conviction of the complainant and that the complainant had not had the opportunity to effectively exercise his rights of defense.
The Federal Court found that the cantonal authorities themselves were responsible for the fact that the…