His victim was 11 years old: Man convicted of rape and attempted murder

57-year-old Dan Diedrik Sarka was today sentenced to nine years in prison by the Nykøbing Falster Court for the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl in the so-called Bøtø case.

It was a case of confession.

The court emphasized the serious nature of the offenses and the fact that they were committed against an 11-year-old when determining the sentence. Due to the serious nature of the offenses, the court did not find a basis for giving any leniency for the confession and also did not find it mitigating that a long time had passed since the criminal act was committed.

It was on August 4, 1999, that the then 11-year-old girl was raped and attempted to be suffocated in a pine grove near Bøtø Strand on Falster.

Despite a composite sketch based on the girl’s and witnesses’ descriptions, it would take more than 25 years before the perpetrator was found and arrested. This happened as a result of a DNA match to a close family member of the now 57-year-old man who lived in the local area.

The convict has received the sentence.