Bartender who sparked 'Balance ton Bar' movement is acquitted of rape

The Brussels bartender at the centre of the #BalanceTonBar movement has been acquitted of rape charges, with a court saying it “was possible” that one of the alleged victims “gave consent but could not remember”.

The #BalanceTonBar movement aimed to draw attention to predators in the nightlife scene. The 32-year-old bartender in question, who worked at multiple bars, was accused by multiple women of drugging their drinks in order to assault them.

News of the case prompted other women to share their experiences on social media of being victims of sexual abuse in the cafes around Ixelles cemetery, which mainly cater to students, and several complaints were filed against the bartender in question, most of which were subsequently dismissed.

Earlier in the man’s trial, Bruzz reports, the public prosecutor demanded no sentence because he said the accused had been the victim of a social media campaign, having had his name and address appear online as part of the #BalanceTonBar movement.

The court eventually ruled that it was not established that the man had raped the two women who filed charges, saying that in the case of one of the alleged victims, “it was possible that she had consented to sexual intercourse but then blacked out and could not remember”.

After acquitting the accused, the presiding judge warned the defendant that “this judgement is not a blank cheque for your attitude. It is simply the expression that reasonable doubt benefits the accused and the defendant.”

Catherine Toussaint, the lawyer of one of the alleged victims, said she had prepared her client for such a verdict.

“My client understands the principle of doubt,” Toussaint said. “I think it's a decision that puts the facts into a moral context and, from a strict legal point of view, applies the basic principles. I have no idea whether my client will appeal. We'll have to discuss it at a later date.”

The initial #BalanceTonBar movement led to multiple demonstrations in Brussels and a bouncer from a cafe in the same neighbourhood as the recently-acquitted bartender was later sentenced to 50 months in prison in another case.

Maïté Meeûs, the founder of the movement, criticised the acquittal, saying it “reveals the shortcomings of the judicial treatment of sexual violence in Belgium”.

Meeûs also described the argument that the defendant was guilty but had been the victim of a media mob as “an insult to survivors”, saying she hoped that “the 2022 reform of the sexual criminal code will prevent this type of decision in the future, by establishing a definition of consent that is free, informed, given voluntarily and can be withdrawn at any time”.