A 50-year-old entrepreneur of Moroccan origin from Antwerp, Belgium, who met a woman on Tinder under a false identity, has been acquitted of rape by the Antwerp Court of Appeal.
According to Belgian media, the man had presented himself on the dating app as a muscular Italian named Ben and arranged a blindfolded sexual encounter with a 47-year-old woman from the Brussels area in 2018. The woman later filed a complaint after discovering his true identity.
The two had agreed to engage in a sexual encounter, sharing an interest in tantric sex, and arranged to meet in a setting inspired by the film Fifty Shades of Grey.
The woman also consented to wear a blindfold before entering his office and during the sexual act.
But during intercourse, she began to have doubts, removed the blindfold, and discovered that her partner did not match his online profile, but was instead a somewhat overweight man of Moroccan origin with a little belly. The two then shared a drink and parted ways.
The woman later filed a rape complaint, arguing, through her lawyer Christine Mussche, that her consent was invalid, as it had been obtained through deception about the man’s identity and appearance.
Yet, the Court of Appeal rejected the arguments, ruling that the woman had consented to sex with a blindfolded stranger and agreeing with the man’s lawyer, Sanne De Clerck, that using a false name and profile did not constitute criminal deception, while also dismissing accusations of victim blaming and noting the woman’s behavior as a relevant factor.
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