Dan Diedrik Sarka, 57, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for the 1999 rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl on Bøtø beach in Falster. The sentence was delivered in the Court in Nykøbing Falster.

Sarka accepted the verdict, according to his defense lawyer immediately following the sentencing.

Earlier in the proceedings, Sarka confessed to rape, attempted murder, and weapons possession.

The crime occurred one afternoon in August 1999 when the 11-year-old girl was threatened with a pistol-like object and forcibly taken from Bøtø beach, where she was with her mother and brother.

She was then raped in a wooded area, after which the perpetrator strangled her until she lost consciousness. Medical reports from the time indicated that the girl’s life was in imminent danger.

The case remained unsolved for 25 years until the South Zealand and Lolland-Falster Police arrested Sarka last December and charged him with the crime.

While he initially pleaded not guilty in a preliminary hearing, Sarka confessed in court, admitting to threatening the girl, dragging her from the beach, raping her, and strangling her with the intent to kill her to prevent her from reporting the incident.