LMonday, September 16, around 6 p.m., after almost nine hours of deliberation, the Charente-Maritime Criminal Court delivered its verdict in the case it has been trying since last Monday. A heavy case with five defendants, who were to answer in particular for kidnapping, attempted extortion, gang rape of a man then aged 30, in Saintes from November 5 to 6, 2021, all against a backdrop of drug trafficking.
Over the days, this file has shed light on this opaque and informal world of drug trafficking in Saintes.
Rape not held back
The jury, made up of five professional magistrates and chaired by Delphine Roudière, takes its place. In the deliberation room, it had to answer the 54 questions raised by this trial with its many charges.
Last Friday, during her closing arguments, Attorney General Alice Rodrigues did not uphold gang rape and complicity in gang rape, respectively charged against Dimitri Gangapal and his nephew Allan Kermel. On this point, on Monday, the court had the same feeling as the prosecution and did not convict the uncle and nephew for the forced fellatio followed by sodomy that the victim, now 33, had confessed to during the investigation of the case. The lack of evidence was decisive.
No premeditation
In the end, Dimitri Gangapal was sentenced to 10 years for kidnapping, sequestration, attempted extortion and drug trafficking, with an additional year in prison for his attempted escape. For Allan Kermel, it will be a three-year sentence, including two years of probationary suspension for two years. “With the pretrial detention and the revocations, you will have to see with your sentencing judge (Editor’s note: JAP) the balance of the sentence you have left to serve,” the president clearly specifies to the young man.
For the Potiron-Cordier duo, it will be the same sentence: three years, including two years of probationary suspension for two years (below the requisitions). “For the violence, the court did not consider premeditation,” the magistrate adds, addressing the two of them, each in turn. “You have already served the year in pretrial detention.” Their sentence is accompanied by obligations to work or train, to repair the damage, not to meet the co-perpetrators and the victim. This last obligation applies to everyone.
Finally, concerning Taous Miliani, the court followed the attorney general’s request to the letter by sentencing her to 18 months in prison, 9 of which were suspended. “This sentence will be served at home,” informed Delphine Roudière. In the dock, Dimitri Gangapal, Taous Miliani’s ex-partner, was seething: “Madam President, how am I going to see my little ones if we are forbidden from seeing their mother?” Response: it will be up to the JAP to decide on the situation.
No comment
The accused have ten days to appeal the decision. Perhaps not Kermel, who poses all smiles with his lawyer in front of the courtroom, having just walked through the door. “The rape was not upheld, that’s a good thing,” smiles Mr. Hériveaux, counsel for Dimitri Gangapal. “A priori, no, we will not appeal this verdict.” Opposite, Mr. Poupard, the victim’s lawyer, seems stunned: “I will not comment on the verdict, I have no right to,” she says. “No, I don’t think my client will be disappointed, he will be devastated!”
Rape of a vulnerable person
The Charente-Maritime criminal court is examining this Tuesday, September 17 and Wednesday, September 18, a case of rape committed against a vulnerable person, placed under guardianship, in a residence in Royan. The alleged perpetrator, now aged 56, was himself under guardianship at the time of the rape committed on February 6, 2022. On February 10, 2022, it was the young woman’s legal representative, presented as naive and fragile, who went to the Royan police station after a social worker noticed a black eye on the victim. The latter had explained that she had been hit by a man because she refused to perform oral sex on him. Out of fear, she then submitted to him. Throughout the proceedings, the alleged perpetrator said he did not remember the events, because he was drunk, and claimed to be incapable of such acts.