Léa, a 21-year-old student, is one of the women who have been attacked in recent weeks in Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin). She recounted this Tuesday on RMC the attack she suffered while she was jogging and which led her to file a complaint for attempted rape. Two other women filed a complaint for the same reason, a fourth for rape, according to information from Latest News from Alsace, confirmed by the Mulhouse prosecutor's office to Le Parisien.
Last Friday, after several days of investigation, a 14-year-old boy was arrested for these facts. He was indicted for rape and attempted rape on Sunday and placed in pre-trial detention.
While running on the banks of the Ill, Léa is attacked from behind and tackled to the ground. “I can't see him and I can't get up because he's helping me,” she says. “It takes me a few seconds to understand what's happening, until he speaks. He said to me: give your phone “, then “he asked me to take off my pants. » “There I told myself that it wasn't possible, that this was going to happen,” confides the young woman, “and I don't know by what force I got up… I hit him in the head and at that point he fled. »
The attacker's modus operandi seems similar each time, although the prosecution highlights an increase in the number of acts recorded. The first two attacks were reported on September 18 and October 23, then two others on November 13 and 15. In these last two cases, a cord was used to immobilize the victims, details the prosecution. On November 15, the sexual assault was supplemented by rape in the form of digital penetration.
“If we are capable of doing this at 14, it’s appalling”
After the last complaint, the police set up a system in the Illberg area where the victims had been attacked. Not all of them were jogging at the time of the attack, some were just walking, underlines the Mulhouse prosecutor's office. The judicial police, the BRI (Research and Intervention Brigade) and the BAC (Anti-Crime Brigade), were mobilized to monitor the scene. The police ended up arresting a 14-year-old boy matching their description and found a cord in his pocket.
“In my head it was inconceivable that it was a minor,” says Léa, “it’s even more shocking. But he did as much harm as an adult attacker, that's the worst part. » “If we are capable of doing that at 14, it’s appalling. Frankly, it calls our hope into question,” she says.
The suspect admitted part of the facts, but initially disputed the sexual nature of the attacks, explains the prosecution. He then ended up recognizing them. The young man is unknown to the police. The investigation continues to potentially identify other women.
Léa declares that she is angry “even more for the other victims”. “He needs to understand what he did, I want justice to be done, I don’t want to meet him again,” she said.
