Prominent Greek actor Petros Filippidis was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for three years, by the Athens Mixed Jury Court of Appeal on Tuesday.
The sentence, decided by a narrow 4-3 majority, means the Filippidis will not spend any time in prison unless he violates the terms of his parole.
The sentence came after the court found 62-year-old Filippidis unanimously guilty of two cases of attempted rape against his two colleagues. The one incident took place in a theater dressing room in 2010 and the second one in his car in a suburb of northern Athens in 2014.
Earlier, the court unanimously rejected any mitigating factors, despite the prosecutor’s recommendation to recognize Filippidis’ previously lawful life and alleged moral improvement.
Defense attorney Michalis Dimitrakopoulos called the verdict a “judicial error.”
“He already spent 11 months in prison and is in poor health,” the lawyer stressed, referring to the actor’s time in pretrial custody.
KTG understands that sentences up to three years get suspended.
The original trial had sentenced Filippidis to eight years in prison, also without leniency, though the sentence was also suspended pending the appeal.
Upon hearing the verdict the two victims broke into tears with one of them telling reporters that she “finally feels justified and relieved.”
Filippidis’s legal team reportedly plans to take the case to the Supreme Court, arguing for a full acquittal or sentence reduction.
