Romanian handball coach sentenced to 19 years in prison for raping several players

Romanian handball coach Ion Tibru was sentenced to 19 years in prison for rape and sexual acts with minors. The Bucharest Court of Appeal’s sentence is final, and is lower than the one ruled by the District 4 Court last summer, of 30 years in prison, reports local News.ro. Tibru already spent some time in jail, from June 25, 2015 to March 10, 2017, and this period will be deducted from the 19-year sentence. He will also have to pay damages to the handball players he had raped. The judges also forbade Tibru to be elected in public authorities or in any other public office, to hold a position where he would have to exercise state authority, to be a guardian or a trustee, to occupy the position of coach, to exercise the teaching profession he had used to commit the offense, and to communicate or get near the victims or their families. Prosecutors said that, between July 2013 and June 2015, Ion Tibru raped seven girl handball players aged between 11 and 14 during training camps or at his home in Bucharest. Ion Tibru was sent to court one year and five months ago. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com