A man accused of beating, raping and torturing a woman he kept in a barn for four years has appeared in court in Poland.
Mateusz Jach was arrested in September 2024 after his 31-year-old victim, identified only by her first name Małgorzata, alerted doctors to her horrific ordeal when she was taken to hospital with a dislocated shoulder.
First meeting Jach on an online dating site in 2019, when she went to meet him the woman who was then in her 20s was taken prisoner and padlocked inside a barn used as an outdoor utility room.
A MailOnline investigation subsequently found that during her time in captivity she was horrifically mutilated with injuries including the loss of both her lips and teeth.
In court on Wednesday, prosecutor Artur Socha said that Jach had acted with ‘particular cruelty’ and that there was ‘a high probability that if released [he] could again commit acts of a similar nature – against life, health and sexual freedom.’
Reading out the list of charges, the prosecutor told the district court in the city of Legnica: ‘The accused beat the victim with his fists, a board, a baton and a rubber garden hose.
‘He raped her with particular cruelty. He recorded some of the rapes on his mobile phone.
‘The woman was in such a bad mental state that she tried to take her own life. In addition, she was starved, without access to running water and imprisoned.
‘I will omit the drastic details,’ he added.
An earlier statement released by the prosecutor’s office said: ‘He kicked her, choked her, pushed her, pulled her, twisted her arms, pulled her hair, and isolated her from other people, humiliated her, called her vulgar names, took her outside with a balaclava forcibly put on, maliciously shaved her hair, constantly monitored all of her behaviour.
‘And moreover, during this period of time, repeatedly, at his own discretion and against the will of the injured party, by violence and unlawful threats of beating, bodily harm and deprivation of life, he led the injured party to sexual intercourse, and also forced her to submit and perform other sexual acts and he recorded this at least twice using a mobile phone.’
The statement also revealed chilling details of injuries Jach allegedly inflicted on the victim and for which she needed hospital treatment.
These included a ‘life-threatening illness’ on 6 August 2023 ‘requiring life-saving hospital treatment and specialist medical procedures, which, if medical assistance had not been provided or if there had been a delay in providing it, would undoubtedly have led to the death of the injured party.
‘On 25 August 2024 a head injury and an injury to the left shoulder joint, which led to paresis of 2 fingers, resulting in a health disorder and impairment of the functions of her body organs for a period exceeding 7 days.’
The statement continued: ‘From the moment the woman was placed in the cell, the accused began to treat her as an object, as a person who was to fulfill his sexual desires at all times.
‘The injured party became completely mentally and physically dependent on him.
‘During the relationship, in November 2020, the above-mentioned gave birth to the accused’s child, which she gave up for adoption in the hospital. After giving birth, she returned to the cell where she had been previously held.
‘On August 25, 2024, the accused, due to the head injury and dislocation of the left shoulder joint, once again took her to the hospital in Głogów.
‘It was only during this stay, after persuading people employed at the medical facility, who managed to persuade the injured party to talk, that she spoke for the first time about her life situation in 4 years, about the abuse she suffered at the hands of the accused and the sexual violence used against her.
‘Immediately after that, Mateusz J. was detained and then temporarily arrested. When questioned as a suspect in the case, Mateusz J. did not admit to committing the crime he was accused of, claiming that nothing had happened without the consent of the injured party.’
The statement added that Jach had ‘psychopathic personality traits, consisting of an extremely egocentric and egoistic attitude, treating people instrumentally with complete disregard for their feelings.’
As the charges were read out, Jach who sat in a black T-shirt with a blank expression on his face pleaded not guilty and said everything had happened with the consent of the victim.
Prosecutor Socha said that if found guilty he faces between five years and life in prison.
The trial continues.
