Man accused of raping girl, 11, could be let off by French courts if it was 'consensual'
A 33-year-old man stood trial on Tuesday accused of raping an 11-year girl in a landmark case that prompted France to change its legislation over consent regarding sex with minors.
The accused, who has a nine-year-old son and has not been named, admitted to having sex with the secondary school pupil in 2017 in Montmagny in the Paris area after meeting her in a public garden, but argued that it was consensual.
Outrage over the claims sparked intense public debate and prompted a change in the law last year making sex with anyone under 15 non-consensual by default and thus rape. However, because criminal law is not retroactive, this case will be tried under earlier legislation, meaning the court could decide sex was consensual.
The man faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The closed-door trial is being conducted by five professional judges and no jury. A verdict is due on Friday.
According to the indictment, the man spoke to the girl in the park once in April 2017 and then approached her again two weeks later, inviting her back to his flat.
She performed oral sex on him in the stairwell of the man’s apartment block but when the caretaker interrupted the pair, they went to his home where “penetration without violence” took place. He then let her out, telling her not to tell anyone.
She instantly phoned her mother to say she had been raped.
Case is back in court four years after first trial
During questioning, the man insisted the girl had consented and that he had no idea how old she was.
She, however, insisted she told him her age, even showing him her school book to prove it. She said she had not run away or refused sexual relations out of fear.
The case initially came to trial in February 2018 but the court declared itself not competent to proceed and called for a fresh investigation.
After a three-year investigation, magistrates concluded that while there was no "violence or physical constraint”, the clear use of “moral constraint” and “surprise” was sufficient to send the man to trial on rape charges.
The affair underlined the lack of legal clarity regarding consent when it came to sex with minors amid a string of scandals over France’s supposed complacency over the issue.
