Trial of the “ex-Grenoblois” – “Alcohol, sex and the criminal court”: story of the sordid night in Bordeaux

The trial will therefore begin six months later. The five defendants, former Grenoble players, were summoned back before the Gironde assizes from this Monday to finally talk about what happened on the night of March 11 to 12, 2017, at the Le M & hotel. SPA By Hôtels et Préférence (then called Quality Suites Bordeaux Aéroport & Spa) in Mérignac, room 908.

It was after a match between UBB and FCG. Loïck Jammes, the New Zealanders Rory Grice and Dylan Hayes, as well as the Irishman Chris Farrell had already come to the Bordeaux court on June 17 but the trial had been postponed for an unexpected and unforeseeable reason: June 12, the fifth co-accused, the Irishman Denis Coulson, had been the victim of a serious car accident in Dublin, his place of residence. He was not physically fit to attend the debates, since he had notably had an ankle operation, but he had been described as polytraumatized by the medical profession of his country. Obviously, his health has improved. He indicated that he would be able to face justice.

A pub, a club, a hotel

The case is serious, all of French rugby knows it since the five men are accused of having participated to varying degrees in a gang rape by a young woman of 20 years old whose identity has not been revealed. The facts, recorded in the elements of the procedure transmitted in the middle of last week, would have taken place in the room of this hotel in Mérignac, near the airport, on the evening of the UBB-Grenoble Top 14 match (46-14 ). The players were allowed to go out into town. The young girl met a group of players in a pub located in the center of Bordeaux, called “The Houses of Parliament”. Denis Coulson and Rory Grice are present, as are Australians Peter Kimlin and Dayna Edwards. at the time, they were respectively 22, 26 and 21 years old for the last two. The young woman is accompanied by two friends, one of whom is of English nationality. It is she who, due to language, brings the group of three girls closer to that of five boys.

After the pub, the small group continues the evening in a nightclub, “La plage” located on Quai de Paludate, south of Bordeaux. A vast place, with seven dance floors. The young woman doesn't feel like a particularly night owl but she likes the part devoted to Latin music. The players are nice. She lets herself be intoxicated by the festive atmosphere and does not refuse the drinks offered to her: vodka, rum. It's 4 o'clock, his English girlfriend follows one of the players who slips away without his teammates. But this possible relationship will not give rise to any controversy.

His French girlfriend returns home

The young student finds herself in an Uber in the company of two of the five English speakers. The investigation will identify Peter Kimlin and Denis Coulson The vehicle heads towards Mérignac, near the airport, quite far from the Quai de Paludate. This is where the Grenoble delegation is staying.

The vehicle arrives in front of the hotel around 4 a.m. and the video surveillance images show Coulson bringing the future complainant into the hotel while supporting her, as if she could no longer walk.

Peter Kimlin goes to bed, alone, certainly the best decision of his life. In any case, he should not regret it at the moment, whatever the outcome of the trial. The Uber driver will never be found by investigators.

When the morning came, the young student woke up naked on a bed “with the impression of being penetrated by a metal object” as she confided to the Bordeaux family protection brigade. His memories of the night are very confused. Several men are present at his side, two of whom are undressed. One of them offers him a taxi but cannot trigger the application.

She got dressed and fled, in tears and panicked, according to several witnesses. She asks for a taxi at reception. The driver described her as obviously shocked. She was able to contact her French friend and spoke to her about collective aggression. She then joined her family before filing a complaint three hours later. The police and judicial machine gets underway. In the meantime, a player, Denis Coulson, would have tried to contact her in a conciliatory tone. On the advice of the police, she did not respond, according to the facts reported by the newspaper The World in July 2018. That evening, his alcohol level was estimated between 2.2 and 3 grams per liter of blood. The context of the evening is established, specific to all excesses.

This affair is edifying, through a form of violence mixed with the irruption into our lives of new technologies, messaging and social networks. There is no doubt that the young girl had sexual relations with three FC Grenoble players. How can we be sure? One of them filmed an explicit scene with his cell phone, the reality of the facts is indisputable. He even shared the video on the social network Snapchat. The investigation also mentions penetration and touching with various objects.

The elements of the procedure also specify that “a genetic expertise made it possible in particular to find the genetic profile of the civil party on the crutches used by the injured player”in a “press kit” document sent last Wednesday by the attorney general’s office. It is established that Rory Grice, Chris Farrell (23 years old, Coulson's roommate), the Frenchman Loïck Jammes (22 years old) and the New Zealander Dylan Hayes (22 years old) entered the room at one time or another.

The players completely deny the constraint

Around 8 a.m., FCG manager Andrew Farley, who woke up early, quickly realized that something had happened. Loïck Jammes brought together the group of five to take stock. Everyone then seeks reassurance. This girl was willing, what would they have done wrong? But everyone, on their own, does their own research on the internet. What the police will find traces of in the seized phones, with explicit requests: “What to do when you’ve slept with a drunk girl?”.

The following Monday (March 13, 2017), Jammes opened a WhatsApp group intended to agree the versions. But France Blue Gironde gets the info out. This time, the media machine is in motion. The president of the FCG, Eric Pilaud, organizes a press conference and does not deny the facts. During this exercise, he will burst into tears: “We are not going to play the victim, our first thoughts are with this young girl. If such facts are ever proven, it is repugnant, unacceptable”.

In mid-April 2017, Jammes, Coulson and Grice were indicted for gang rape and were dismissed from the FCG. Four years later, in July 2021, Farrell and Hayes suffered the same fate but for less serious facts, “failure to assist a person in danger.” They would have attended the antics, without protecting the young girl. A shadowy legal battle had already started, the players' lawyers tried every recourse to spare their clients the ordeal of the assize court which, seen from afar , however, seemed inevitable. They pushed back the deadline until December 2022, when the Court of Cassation made its final decision. The men will face the accused's box, starting this Monday, while remaining presumed innocent. From the beginning, they denied any coercion and, therefore, the idea of ​​rape.