Three young minor boys, aged 12 and 13, were indicted on Tuesday June 18 for having committed an anti-Semitic rape on a 12-year-old girl, in Courbevoie, in Hauts-de-Seine. This affair aroused the indignation of political leaders, who denounced a “heinous crime” and a “horrible anti-Semitic rape”.
She says she was treated like “dirty Jew” by his attackers. The circumstances of the rape and violence denounced by a 12-year-old girl in Courbevoie (Hauts-de-Seine) became clearer this Wednesday, June 19, after the indictment and detention of two 13-year-old adolescents. A third 12-year-old suspect was placed under the status of assisted witness for rape and indicted for the other offenses covered by the investigation, according to the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office. Libé takes stock of what we know about this affair which is causing excitement throughout the country.
What happened in Courbevoie on Saturday June 15?
The affair began on Saturday evening after “denunciations” of the young girl, accompanied by her parents for the filing of her complaint. According to a police source, the minor then explained that she was approached that same afternoon by three teenagers and dragged into an abandoned premises while she was in a square near her home with a friend, near a tower. of the La Défense business district. She claims to know one of them personally, who turns out to be her former boyfriend. The three boys then allegedly hit her and allegedly “imposed anal and vaginal penetration, fellatio, while uttering death threats and anti-Semitic remarks” said the same source.
During her first statements to investigators, the young girl claimed to have been treated like a “dirty Jew”, several police sources reported this Wednesday. One of the teenagers involved allegedly “asked questions regarding his Jewish religion”, asking her why she didn’t talk about it and asking her about Israel, this source further details. The victim then replied that he wanted “to protect yourself” of a possible attack. After the anti-Semitic comments, two of the teenagers present allegedly raped the young teenager successively, according to the victim’s first statements.
According to other details provided by the young girl, one of the attackers filmed the scene. Another allegedly threatened to kill her if she reported the facts to the police. The young girl was taken care of by firefighters and transported to the Garches medical-judicial unit, in Hauts-de-Seine, where a gynecological expertise confirmed the rape, reports the Parisian.
His friend managed to identify two of the three attackers.
What do we know about the suspects?
“Three young minor boys, aged 12 and 13” were indicted this Tuesday, June 18 in connection with this matter. “Two of the three minors”aged 13, are indicted “counts of aggravated rape (assembly, of a minor aged 15 and in the presence of minors)”, indicated to Release the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office. But that’s not all. They were also incarcerated for “sexual assault in a meeting, attempted extortion, violence committed in a meeting, against a minor under 15 years old and on grounds of religion, invasion of privacy by fixation, recording or transmission of the image of a person of a sexual nature, repeated death threats, insult on the grounds of religion.”
The third minor, 12 years old, was placed under the status of assisted witness concerning the acts of rape, and indicted for the rest of the offenses, due to his age. He is the subject of a provisional educational measure “including in particular placement in a youth judicial protection home”, informs the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office.
During their first interrogation, “the three minors made brief spontaneous statements, expressing regret towards the victim without addressing their involvement in the facts”, specifies the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office Release.
What were the political and associative reactions?
Since the revelation of this affair, political reactions have been accumulating, in the middle of the electoral campaign for the legislative elections. The leader of La France insoumise (LFI) Jean-Luc Mélenchon – regularly accused by political opponents of ambiguous remarks on anti-Semitism – for example spoke on X and said “horrified by this rape in Courbevoie and everything it highlights regarding the conditioning of criminal male behavior from a young age, and anti-Semitic racism. Solidarity and heartfelt thoughts for the victim and his loved ones.” François Ruffin, rebellious deputy for the Somme and one of the figureheads of the New Popular Front, was also indignant on the social network of a “horrible anti-Semitic rape of a child”.
At the opposite end of the political spectrum, Marine Le Pen directly attacked “the extreme left” and to its supposed “stigmatization of Jews for months through the exploitation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” in a post on the social network
President Emmanuel Macron also stepped up to the plate by pronouncing “solemn and serious words on the scourge of anti-Semitism” during the Council of Ministers, indicated his entourage. He asked “just a time for discussion” be organized in the coming days in schools on racism and anti-Semitism. By wanting these discussions, he wants to ensure that “hate speech carries serious consequences” born “do not infiltrate” in schools, added those around him.
The SOS Racisme association brought “all his support to the victim and his family” in this “sordid affair”, recalling the increase “worrisome” anti-Semitic acts since October 7. Anti-Semitic acts soared in France in the first quarter of 2024, according to government figures, which reported “366 anti-Semitic facts” recorded between January and March, up 300% compared to the first three months of 2023.
