Constitutional Court: autistic minor raped at Prague psychiatric hospital entitled to greater compensation

The Constitutional Court has ruled that an autistic minor repeatedly raped at Bohnice Psychiatric Hospital by another juvenile patient is entitled to greater compensation than the “excessively low” amount set by the High Court in Prague.

In its judgment, the Constitutional Court argued that the victim, who was 12 years old at the time of the rapes in 2018, was unable to fully understand their rights.

Since childhood, the minor has identified and dressed as a girl but was placed in a boys’ ward in a room with adolescents. Judge Kateřina Šimáčková said the hospital should have anticipated the likelihood of abuse.

The perpetrator was convicted and ordered to pay 75,000 crowns to the victim, whose parents were entitled to seek in total 500,000 crowns in civil proceedings on their behalf. According to Constitutional Court, due to the extraordinary circumstances, the whole matter should be resolved in criminal proceedings.