SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

France drops Norwegian’s rape case against firemen

A Norwegian woman accused six members of the Parisian fire brigade of raping her in 2019 in a case that drew widespread media attention in France. The case was dropped on Saturday according to a judicial source.

An investigation into an alleged gang rape by six members of the Parisian fire brigade has been dropped.
An investigation into an alleged gang rape by six members of the Parisian fire brigade has been dropped. (Photo by LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ / Belga / AFP)

A French investigating magistrate has dropped a rape case filed by a Norwegian woman who accused six members of the Paris fire brigade of raping her in 2019, a judicial source said on Sunday.

The magistrate made the decision on April 28, the source — who asked not to be named — told AFP, confirming a report in the Le Parisien newspaper.

The women, a student and aged 20 at the time of the alleged events, accused the firemen of raping her at their barracks in the French capital on a night in May 2019.

She said she had a consensual relationship with one of the firemen she met in a bar, but was then raped by others.

Prosecutors opened an investigation into gang rape but the firemen insisted all sexual activity was consensual and they have never been charged in the case.

The investigating magistrate found there was not sufficient evidence to continue proceedings against the firemen, who at the time where aged 23-35, said the judicial source.

“It does not appear that the plaintiff was subjected to real violence, physical constraint or threats” or showed “a refusal and any resistance when new partners arrived,” said the ruling cited by Le Parisien.

Geraldine Vallat, a layer for one of the firemen, welcomed the ruling as a “relief” but said the accusations “had broken the dreams of a professional career” as all the men had been suspended during the case.

The Paris fire brigade is a unit of the ground army which intervenes in all emergency situations in the French capital. It is seen as a prestigious force but its image has been tainted by allegations of sexual harassment and assault in recent years.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

CRIME

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

French prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old man and a youth in the Paris region with planning a "terrorist" attack on Jewish targets, a judicial source told AFP on Friday.

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

While no details on the pair have been released, French anti-terrorist investigators have expressed increased concern over the young age of some suspects detained in recent months for planning militant attacks.

The 19-year-old has been charged with “terrorist conspiracy” to commit attacks and the “acquisition and possession of arms for a terrorist enterprise,” said the judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

READ ALSO: Anti-Semitism fears stalk Jewish voters’ choice in France

The youth aged under 18 was detained on June 13, the source said.

The pair made contact on social media and were planning a “a violent action notably aiming at Jewish targets,” said the source without giving details on the plot.

Anti-terrorism investigators say a growing number of youths have been held in recent months for preparing attacks.

READ ALSO: French election breakdown: TV debates, polling latest and anti-Semitism

“This is a necessarily worrying phenomenon,” senior anti-terrorist prosecutor Olivier Christen said at an evidentiary hearing on Wednesday.

French politicians have also condemned a growing number of attacks on the country’s Jewish community, the biggest outside Israel and the United States.

Outrage has been expressed over the rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a park in the Paris suburbs last Saturday. Two 13-year-old boys have been charged with rape and making anti-Semitic insults.

Several protest rallies have been held in Paris and other French cities over the case which comes as France prepares for a national election in which the far-right National Rally party is tipped to make major gains. 

SHOW COMMENTS