Since 1995, defendant T.Ș.N. travelled to France where he committed a long series of theft and larceny offences. Before the law no. 678/2001 was ratified, he started a network of people recruited from Romania, who would come to France to commit the same type of crimes. From 1999, T.Ș.N. coordinated this network together with the rest of the defendants -G.D.O., T.N.M., T.N. and G.N.E.- by recruiting people with financial difficulties and giving them false identities in order to deceive the French authorities in case they were arrested. They were given instructions in case of arrest and all the income generated by these crimes was administered by the defendants.
In 2002, the defendants recruited 4 minors who, under false identities, were brought to France to commit shoplifting and larceny. The defendants provided them with transportation and false documents in order to bring them to and from France. They also preferred minors in this operation because it was easier to avoid detection by the French authorities: juveniles who commit felonies are taken in a special form of detention in France, from which they were instructed to escape as soon as they were transferred there.
1st Instance:
The Family and Minors Division of the Brașov Tribunal, in its decision no. 53/S rendered on the 20th June 2007, sentenced defendants T.Ș.N. and G.D.O. for the offences of trafficking of minors committed against victims N.B., E.G.B., E.F.M. and G.B.N. to 8 years of imprisonment, and for the offence of organising the perpetration of the crime of trafficking of minors, to an imprisonment term of 8 years. The defendants were also convicted to 5 years imprisonment for larceny and to 1 year for the offences of identity theft, fraud and attempt to commit witness tampering. For all these crimes, the defendants were sentenced to 8 years imprisonment.
In the same decision, the Court sentenced defendants T.N.M. and G.N.E. for trafficking of minors, to 7 years of imprisonment and for the offence of organising the perpetration of the crime of trafficking of minors, to an imprisonment term of 7 years. The defendants were also sentenced to 4 years imprisonment for larceny and to 1 year for the offences of identity theft, fraud and attempt to commit witnesses tampering. For all these crimes, the defendants were sentenced to 7 years.
The Family and Minors Division of the Brașov Tribunal court sentenced defendant T.N for 4 offences of trafficking of minors, to 5 years imprisonment. The defendant was also convicted to1 year imprisonment for the offence of identity theft and fraud. For all these crimes, the defendant was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment.
The Family and Minors Division of the Brașov Tribunal court sentenced the defendant Ș.N. for 4 offences of juvenile trafficking to an imprisonment term of 5 years. The defendant was also convicted to1 year imprisonment for the offence of identity theft and fraud. For all these crimes, the defendant was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment.
2nd Instance:
The Family and Minors Division of the Brașov Tribunal Prosecution Service,defendants G.D.O., Ș.Ș.N., G.D.E., Ș.N.M., S.N. and the plaintiff, N.B.N., all filed appeals on procedural grounds.
During the trial in first instance, the Family and Minors Division of the Brașov Tribunal proceeded to gather the statements from the victims and the witnesses. The focus of the legal reasoning was the application of the facts of the case (respectively the deeds of the defendants ) to the legal provisions (i.e. establishing whether the crime of trafficking of minors had been perpetrated). The court found the defendants guilty of trafficking of minors.
Art. 13 of Law no. 678/2001
Art. 15 of Law no. 678/2001
The appeal was admitted by the Brașov Court of Appeals by decision no. 29/AP/2009 rendered on 4 May 2009. The court partially granted the appeal filed by the Prosecution Service and banned all the defendants from voting and being elected for a public authority position or for public office, from holding any functions involving the exercise of state authority and from holding any function or profession similar to the one used by the defendants in order to commit the felony for a term of 2 years after the imprisonment sentence is served.
The Brașov Court of Appeals rejected the claims filed by the defendants and the plaintiff N.B.N.
Art. 13 of Law no. 678/2001
Art. 15 of Law no. 678/2001
The defendants appealed the decision of the Brașov Tribunal, requesting, chiefly, for the cause to be remanded to the prosecution phase, reversal of the verdict on the grounds that no crime had been perpetrated, the acquittal or the reduction of the sentences and the admission of several attenuating circumstances.
The Brașov Court of Appeals rejected the appeals filed by the defendants and by the plaintiff, N.B.N.
Art. 13 of Law no. 678/2001
Art. 15 of Law no. 678/2001
Art. 13 of Law no. 678/2001
Art. 15 of Law no. 678/2001
Art. 13 of Law no. 678/2001
Brașov Court of Appeals
The Court of Appeals increased the defendants’ sentences, as requested by the Prosecution Service, given the gravity of the offences and the social danger represented by their actions. The Court reached this decision despite the argument presented in the appeal filed by the defendants, in which they stated that the circumstances of their actions towards the minors did not reflect the crime of trafficking of minors, as no form of coercion was used in order to make the victims commit crimes abroad. The Court ruled that since they recruited, transported, provided documents and hosted the minors in order to commit crimes in another state as a part of a criminal network, these actions did indeed amount to trafficking of minors, thus rejecting the appeals filed by the defendants.