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SEXUAL ASSAULT

French tennis pros held over rape of US player

Three Frenchmen, two of them professional tennis players, were charged on Tuesday with the gang rape of an American female player at a hotel after-party during a tournament in Greece. All five accused have claimed they are "innocent young people in jail."

Published: 15 October 2013 15:50 CEST
French tennis pros held over rape of US player
Three Frenchmen, two of them professional tennis players, were charged on Tuesday with the gang rape of an American female player in Athens. Unrelated archive photo: Windsor Tennis Club

Two French tennis professionals were among five men charged Tuesday with the gang-rape of an American woman player during a tournament in Greece, a police source said.

The woman told police she had consensual sex with a Romanian youth, but was then gang-raped by three Frenchmen and a German.

The alleged rape took place during a tournament party at a hotel in the town of Marathon near Athens on October 3rd, police said.

The men, whose identities have not been released, were placed in pre-trial detention, the source said.

The five denied the charge, saying in a statement they were "innocent young people in jail, accused for something we did not do".

They described themselves as "a professional tennis coach, two professional tennis players, a dance instructor and a fitness coach."

No trial date has yet been set.

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POLITICS

Meet America’s new Ambassador to France

An experienced diplomat who formerly worked in Belgium, the USA's new Ambassador has arrived in Paris.

Published: 9 March 2022 16:32 CET
Meet America’s new Ambassador to France

France’s new US Ambassador is no stranger to US-European relations, having served as Ambassador to Belgium for four years.

An experienced diplomat and a fluent French speaker, Denise Campbell Bauer, 58, was based in Brussels between 2013 and 2017 after being nominated to the position by Barack Obama – for whom she had raised millions of dollars for his two presidential campaigns.

A noted advocate for women in politics, in 2019, she was executive director of the ‘Women for Biden’ campaign group for Joe Biden’s ultimately successful bid for the Presidency.

She is a former TV journalist and has worked with the American Red Cross. 

She was nominated for the post of Ambassador to France and Monaco by President Joe Biden in July, and confirmed by the Senate during a marathon series of votes in December. She presented her credentials last month.

Announcing her nomination, the White House said in a statement: “Denise Campbell Bauer is an experienced diplomat, non-profit leader, and advocate for women’s voices in politics and policy. 

“She served as the United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium from August 2013 until January 2017, where she led one of the largest embassies in Europe and earned a reputation for her collaborative leadership style, high ethics standards, and crisis management skills.”

She takes over the post at a critical time in global politics, with the US and EU nations co-ordinating sanctions against Russia, following the invasion of Ukraine.

She succeeds Trump nominee Jamie McCourt, who left in January. Chargé d’affaires Brian Aggeler has managed the embassy in the short intervening period.

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