Vilnius court sentences Danish citizen for rape

Schultz, 47-year-old CEO of the Scandinavian Business Center, was sentenced to three years in prison. Until the verdict is enforced, the Dane was released on a written pledge not to leave the country.

His actual jail term will be less than three years, as he has already spent nearly a year in custody and detention between May 2009 and May 2010.

Erda Marija Kavaliauskienė, spokeswoman for the court, told BNS that the court held a critical view of the defendant's testimony, which was inconsistent and contradictory. Meanwhile, the victim's testimony was consistent and she had no reasons to slander the Dane. Immediately after the incident, she filed a report with the police, witnesses saw her battered and naked.

Schultz will have to pay 622 litas (EUR 180.3) in pecuniary damages and 40,000 litas in non-pecuniary damages, as well as cover 11,900 litas of legal costs.

The case was heard behind closed doors, the man said he should be acquitted of all charges. Meanwhile, prosecutors said he should be sentenced to four years.

According to case information, Schultz held the young female in captivity in a Vilnius apartment in the end of May 2009, raping and assaulting her.

The victim said she had come to Schultz's apartment to teach his daughter.

The case was suspended for some time after psychiatrists established he had health problems.

According to media reports, the Danish citizen has filed a motion with the Strasbourg court over what he said were human rights violations in Lukiškės prison. He said Lithuania should be held responsible for allegedly inhumane conditions in the prison, which, in his words, amount to torture.