Ersilia Soudais, LFI MP, filed a complaint last March against her ex-partner, Damien Cassé, for rape and moral harassment. The rape charges were dismissed, but the accused was sent to the Meaux Criminal Court for harassment.
On May 14, the confrontation between LFI MP Ersilia Soudais and her ex-partner, LFI activist Damien Cassé, lasted seven hours in the offices of the Territorial Crime Division of Meaux (Seine-et-Marne). Ersilia Soudais, aged 36, accused Damien Cassé of rape and moral harassment. The latter contested the accusations, claiming that their relationship was consensual and denying any moral pressure.
After this confrontation, Damien Cassé's lawyer, Me Yassine Bouzrou, submitted an 11-page note to the Meaux prosecutor's office requesting that the case be dismissed. The Meaux prosecutor, Jean-Baptiste Bladier, partly followed this recommendation by not retaining the accusations of a sexual nature. However, the offence of harassment was retained, and Damien Cassé will be summoned next January before the Meaux criminal court.
Rape complaint dismissed, but harassment acknowledged
Ersilia Soudais filed a complaint on March 2, claiming that her partner had forced her to have sex on the night of February 29 to March 1 at their home in Villeparisis. She wanted to distance herself after two years of living together that she considered “toxic”. The MP reported that her partner had waited for her at the train station and raped her after joining her in their bed. She also accused Damien Cassé of harassment through malicious messages and calls during his trip to Jordan and Morocco.
Damien Cassé, arrested on March 5 and taken into police custody, denied the accusations of rape, citing consensual sexual intercourse in a context of particular sexuality between them. Ersilia Soudais, for her part, admitted not having expressed a clear refusal during the act, declaring that she “let them do it in a houseplant mode.”
Moral harassment confirmed and psychological investigation
Regarding moral harassment, Ersilia Soudais described public bullying and constant monitoring by messages. Three witnesses corroborated her statements, and a psychological examination revealed a “state of acute stress” in the MP, linked to a controlling relationship.
Me Jade Dousselin, the plaintiff's lawyer, expressed her relief at the idea that Damien Cassé will have to answer for his actions before a criminal court. However, she regretted the persistent difficulty for women to prove rape in the context of a regular relationship.
Source: Le Parisien
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