Swedish man jailed for seven years for Napa rape

A Swedish man, 23, was jailed for seven years on Tuesday in Larnaca for the rape in 2014 of a woman, also Swedish, who was under 18 at the time.

The incident happened in an Ayia Napa hotel on July 19 last year.

Patrik Ivarsson was arrested by police at a local clinic, which he visited after trying to escape by jumping off the hotel balcony.

The defendant and the woman had been drinking with other friends at two bars that night. At some point they left without telling anyone. They ended up at his hotel room where he raped the teenager and then sent her packing.

The woman reported the incident at the reception, which called the police.

She also reported the incident in Sweden.

The defendant has denied the rape all along. The court took into account the absence of premeditation but also the woman’s categorical refusal to have sex with him.

The court said the age difference between the two was not big but noted that the woman was under 18 – 17 and 10 months – at the time.

The fact that he had used violence also counted against the defendant, who put his hand over her mouth and nose while raping her. The woman was forced to pretend she was dead by holding her breath in the hope that he would remove his hand.

He also humiliated her by pushing her out of his room almost naked. “After he satisfied his unlawful sexual appetite, he forced her to seek help in a state of panic.”