M.C. v. Bulgaria [

2003] ECHR 39272/98

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P was 14 years and 10 months old. She went to a disco and met three men, one of whom she had known. Another was the older brother of a classmate of hers. They left the disco and went to a swimming reservoir. P remained in the car. One of the men, D, came back to the car, pressed himself after her, moved the seat to horizontal, and kissed her. P tried to push back but was unable to resist and asked D to leave. D forced her to have sex. D claimed P consented. P cried most of the time. But the men stated she was in a good mood. The group went to a restaurant, and a witness there said P appeared cheerful with nothing unusual happening. P disputed this evidence and had never went to the restaurant and accused the witness of perjury. The group then went to a relative’s house. D claimed a visit to a bakery with nothing out of place but P disputed those events as well. At the home she was again raped. P claimed she did not have the strength to resist violently. She cried and asked him to stop. D2 claimed she consented. P was discovered by her mother and reported the incident to the police. They went to the hospital for a rape kit. The medical examiner found that the hymen had been freshly torn. He also noted grazing on the applicant's neck, measuring 35 mm by 4 mm, and four small oval-shaped bruises. As noted in the medical certificate, the applicant had reported only one rape, stating that it had occurred between 10.30 and 11 p.m. the previous day at the reservoir. The prosecutor investigated but closed the case. He found that the use of force or threats had not been established beyond reasonable doubt. In particular, no resistance on the applicant's part or attempts to seek help from others had been established. P brought this suit before the Court.