According to the Court of Appeal, it was unclear how the word “snip” should be interpreted – and a man in his 50s was acquitted of raping a ten-year-old girl in the well-known snippadom. The news is a great relief, according to the girl’s mother.
– It is a big stone that has been lifted and I think it is very important both for my daughter’s mental health with anxiety, PTSD, depression and for her trust in the justice system. Even in a larger perspective for children’s legal security, it is very important, says the girl’s mother to TV4 Nyheterna.
It is still unclear what the decision to retrial means for the girl and her relatives. According to the girl’s mother, the family is trying to take one day at a time.
– You simply have to take one day at a time. Some things, even though it has taken 2.5 years, you simply have to bite the bullet and keep fighting for.
The family’s hope is that the man will be convicted this time.
– It must not say that someone is guilty and has committed a crime with intent, that the victim is credible and that there is weight in the investigation. And that then because of a word and that the child cannot explain how far into the neck the finger has been – that person then goes without a sentence. It must not happen again. Not for any child.
The Court of Appeal for Western Sweden has committed procedural errors in the judgment, according to the Supreme Court.
Do you trust them to do the right thing if there is a new trial?
– Sometimes you have to choose for them to do the right thing. Because that is what we have chosen as the legal system in Sweden. So then I choose to do it.
It has now been 2.5 years but the girl is still strongly affected by what she was exposed to.
– It has been a very difficult time. Still, there are a lot of hugs. She writes off a lot and there are still anxiety attacks. Then it goes without saying that time heals a bit as well, but there is still a long way to go.
Now it is important to get an end in the form of a new trial and verdict.
– As a person and especially as a child to be listened to, says the mother.
The verdict triggered a protest storm on social media and demonstrations in several parts of the country during the spring. Among other things, the hashtag #jagvetvadensnippaär was spread on social media.
– The support has been fantastic, but at the same time the whole thing has been like a nightmare with all the waiting, everything around. Like a limbo.