Geneva: raped at 16, suspect is behind bars

According to the psychiatric expertise rendered in June, L. does not suffer from a serious mental disorder. According to our information, this man, who two years ago raped a 16-year-old girl in Chêne-Bougeries, today presents a low to medium risk of recidivism.

However, the crime of this 22-year-old Brazilian turns out to be particularly sordid. The “Tribune de Genève” is today able to reveal this affair, its chronology and its context.

A meeting on the tram

The first act of the drama begins on August 18, 2022, shortly before 11 p.m., in the tram traveling towards Moillesulaz. Inside, with his nose on his phone, L., who ate at Caritas at lunchtime, is overcome by a craving. Having arrived in Switzerland a few months ago, this young man prostitutes himself and sells cannabis in Geneva parks. He sometimes sleeps outside.

L. is suspected of having spotted his victim when she gets off at the stop near the Clinique des Grangettes. There, he begins to follow her on a scooter down an isolated path that leads to her home. The minor suspects nothing.

He grabs her by the neck

Suddenly, the Brazilian passes her, then comes back in her direction, asking her for money. As he doesn’t speak French, he uses a translation site on his phone. The victim, worried by the presence of this stranger, refuses and heads home.

So he grabs her by the neck, strangles her before dragging her into a garden near her home. There, he hits her several times. Particularly on the face and, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, with a blunt object. Finally, he rapes her.

A neighbor hears noises and a video surveillance camera of the victim’s family records the first images after the tragedy. We see the Geneva woman in very bad shape, her face swollen, trying to return home as best she can.

Came to prostitute

Once his crime is completed, the man disappears. He will be arrested in 2023 at rue de Lausanne, in connection with drug trafficking. His DNA, found under the nails and on the victim’s private parts, quickly implicated him.

Asked to explain himself, the detainee initially refuses to answer and even mentions the plan to file a complaint against the police officers who arrested him. Then, a few weeks later, he decided to collaborate and even admitted the sexual abuse.

During the hearing, the young man, accused in particular of attempted murder and rape, says he came to Switzerland in the spring of 2022 to become a prostitute. He claims to have been raped by his landlord and says he smokes several joints a day.

He does not explain the reasons for his actions but he regrets them. He feels shame, he says, and hopes that his psychotherapeutic work will allow him to understand the reasons for his action. Illegal in Switzerland, he claims not to have wanted to kill the complainant and denies having used an object to hit her.

“Women’s Safety”

Arrested six months after the events, L., who beat the unfortunate woman, displays an average violence index. Based on these findings, experts now recommend outpatient psychological monitoring in order to reduce the risk of recurrence.

Victim’s lawyer, M^e Laura Santonino reacts: “The defendant showed incredible violence against my young client while she was quietly returning home. The unpredictability and extreme seriousness of this type of sexual assault are truly worrying for the safety of women in general.”

On the defense side, lawyer M^e Swan Monbaron did not wish to comment on his client, who could be tried next year.

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