Investigation Chamber of the Court of Appeal of Orléans
Installed in Tours with his parents since 2018, a young 26-year-old Iraqi has been provisionally detained since February 21, 2024 for “rape and sexual assault of a minor”. Provided with a resident card, he has refugee status and calls himself a Christian. Single, without children, he is accused of having, in July 2023, sexually assaulted a minor after having locked her in the toilets of a fast food establishment, then having raped her, a little later, in a forest.
To the Amboise gendarmes, the victim will explain “to have been in great pain” and having been threatened with reprisals: “He said he was going to talk to my dad about it. » Although she does not bear traces of physical violence, the young girl suffers from traumatic symptoms – two days of total incapacity for work are prescribed for her.
Since his arrest, the suspect has continued to change his statements. He recognizes on June 18, 2024 having had “a romantic relationship” with the complainant, “very focused on sex”. He also points out that he didn't know she was a minor.
A context of blackmail and control
At the hearing on October 17, 2024 before the investigating chamber of the Court of Appeal of Orléans (Loiret), his counsel Me Sabah Esnault-Benmoussa submitted a brief in which he offers accommodation in the Charentes. A distance which would, according to him, eliminate any risk of pressure and interference.
Florent Carpentier, general counsel, considers that in a context of blackmail, influence, use of social networks, we must face a decisive risk of pressure and “poor guarantees of representation before the courts”. The court keeps the suspect in prison.
