As requested by Antoine Loussot, representing the public prosecutor in this trial, the court sentenced the 36-year-old Romanian to thirty years of criminal imprisonment on Tuesday, July 2, after three days of hearings. It acknowledged, however, the impairment of the accused’s judgment, but this did not prevent “requesting the maximum sentence.”
He mentioned his plan to dismember the victim, he had reasoning, logic
Throughout his indictment, the magistrate recalled “the savagery” of the crimes with which Ciprian Ghilescu was charged: “Bursting injuries, vulvar injuries, a crushing mechanism of the thorax, six rib fractures”. According to him, “the accused retained a degree of consciousness throughout the alleged acts, particularly those of a sexual nature”, dismissing the hypothesis of a loss of discernment.
He cites the accused’s back-and-forth explanations as proof. The man, in police custody, had first spoken to investigators about his hatred of women before justifying his act by demonic possession. “He mentioned his plan to dismember the victim’s body with a knife, he took her phone… There was reasoning, logic,” continued Antoine Loussot.
Banned from Côtes-d’Armor
The uncertainty about his psychiatric situation must also have influenced the jurors. The day before, three psychiatric experts and a psychologist appeared in court with opposing opinions, ranging from schizophrenia to the exclusion of any mental disorder. In court, the defense attorneys tried to assert their client’s madness and argued in favor of his full hospitalization. “He had no awareness of the issues at stake,” explained Me Emilie Etoubleau. “We do not punish the madman independently of the causes of his madness: what matters is not the origin of the dementia but its effect on the person who acts.”
If you have any doubt about the accused’s responsibility, it should be given the benefit of the accused.
Mr. Thomas Jourdain-Demars also highlighted the two expert reports that supported his defense. “They explicitly indicate that the accused has no place in prison. […] He was hospitalized for auditory hallucinations and confided in three people. If you have any doubt about the accused’s responsibility, he should benefit from it,” said the Rennes lawyer. This did not convince the jury, which ultimately did not accept either abolition or alteration.
Ciprian Ghilescu, who has been in pretrial detention for three years, will have to comply with strict socio-judicial monitoring for 20 years upon his release, with an injunction for treatment and work. He will also have to compensate the civil party and never appear in Côtes-d’Armor again, all under penalty of an additional seven years in prison. His name will also be entered in the Automated Judicial File of Perpetrators of Sexual or Violent Offenses (Fijeas). He has ten days to appeal this decision.
