A 36-year-old man in an irregular situation in France was indicted for aggravated rape before being placed in pre-trial detention this Sunday, November 24, 2024. He is suspected of having raped a 25-year-old young man suffering from a disability severe mental illness, in the toilets of the Atlantis shopping center, in Saint-Herblain (Loire-Atlantique), near Nantes, indicates the prosecution, confirming information from Ocean Press.
The events occurred on Friday, November 22, around 3 p.m., while the victim was shopping with her mother. The young man went to the toilet while his mother waited for him outside. Not seeing him return, she became worried and headed towards the cabins. “At the cabin level, she discovers that a man is committing rape to the detriment of his son”explained Renaud Gaudeul, public prosecutor of Nantes.
Alerted by the mother, the shopping center security agents intervened quickly. “They are the ones who will arrest the accused”said the prosecutor. The man was then handed over to the police. Investigators from the local judicial police service (SLPJ) of Nantes were immediately involved in the investigations. Video surveillance images from the shopping mall, which has a large network of cameras, supported the investigation. The victim was examined by the medical-judicial unit (UMJ) before being able to return home, accompanied by her loved ones.
An amateur video, showing extracts of the video surveillance images, was published on social networks:
“The victim is incapable of expressing the slightest consent”
The alleged perpetrator, an Algerian of no fixed address and in an irregular situation on French territory, was placed in police custody. During his hearing, he admitted “the materiality of the facts” but claimed that “the victim had been pleasant with him”. These comments, however, are in total contradiction with the elements of the investigation. Renaud Gaudeul emphasized that
“the victim is incapable of expressing the slightest consent”.
The prosecutor also detailed the two aggravating circumstances retained: “the vulnerability of the victim and the fact of having acted while drunk and under the influence of narcotics”. The man admitted to having consumed alcohol and pregabalin, a drug used in the treatment of neuropathic pain and epileptic seizures, before committing the act.
Referred to the Nantes public prosecutor's office on Sunday November 24, the suspect was presented to an investigating judge, who indicted him for aggravated rape. The judge of freedoms and detention (JLD) ordered his placement in pre-trial detention, in accordance with the prosecution's requisitions. Renaud Gaudeul specified that the full identity of the suspect must still be confirmed.
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