Prominent theater director gets 12 years for two rapes

A Mixed Jury Court in Athens on Wednesday sentenced former actor and director Dimitris Lignadis to 12 years in prison for two rapes, after founding him guilty in two out of four cases of rape.

The sentence arises from the merger of a sentence of 10 years and a sentence of five years decided for each offence separately. The rapes happened when the victims were minors, in 2010 and 2015.

The sentence of 12 years, as recommended by the public prosecutor on the bench, was reached by a majority of four votes to three, with one juror, the president on the bench and one of the judges calling for a combined sentence of 11 years in total.

The public prosecutor has asked that the sentence should not be suspended pending appeal as Lignadis is considered liable to commit further crimes and has admitted no responsibility for the acts for which he has been found guilty by the court. Lignadis will soon have served 17 months in prison on remand.

A final decision on whether the sentence should be suspended is still pending.