the main defendants sentenced to 12 to 14 years in prison

These sentences, handed down on Friday, are in accordance with the requisitions of the attorney general.

Three ex-rugby players from Grenoble were sentenced, Friday, December 13, to sentences of 12 to 14 years of criminal imprisonment for having raped a young woman, in 2017 in Bordeaux, after a very alcoholic evening which followed a Top 14 match These convictions are in accordance with the requisitions of the attorney general. The acts of “gang rape” of which they were accused are punishable by 20 years of imprisonment. None of the accused and defendants had been in pre-trial detention.

After two weeks of trial behind closed doors and more than nine hours of deliberation, the Irishman Denis Coulson and the Frenchman Loïck Jammes were sentenced to 14 years in prison, and the New Zealander Rory Grice to 12 years. The Irish player is now 30 years old and converted to construction, while the Frenchman (30 years old) and the New Zealander (34 years old) still play rugby, the first in Aix-en-Provence and the second in Oyonnax, two Pro D2 clubs. The Gironde Assize Court also sentenced Chris Farrell to 4 years in prison, two of which were suspended, and Dylan Hayes to two years suspended, for having witnessed all or part of the events without intervening.

The three main accused plead the consent of the victim, with whom they had spent a Top 14 post-match in a bar then in a nightclub, in March 2017, alcohol flowing freely, before ending the night in a hotel near from Bordeaux. The young woman came to her senses there the next day, naked on a bed with a crutch in her vagina, surrounded by two naked men and others dressed. The student had filed a complaint, stating that she had met players in a bar and followed them to a nightclub during a very alcoholic evening, without remembering what happened next.

Based in particular on a video filmed by Denis Coulson, the prosecution mentioned several fellatios and the introduction of a banana, a bottle and crutches into the victim's vagina. According to a toxicological expert, she had between 2.2 and 3 grams of alcohol per liter of blood. According to video surveillance footage, she could barely stand when she arrived at the hotel, to the point of being “constantly maintained” by one of the accused. The victim's lawyer insisted during the hearing that the accused should have “protect” the victim instead of “enjoy” of his drunken state.