Most rapes in France are perpetrated in a family, friendly or professional context. Not this one. On September 11, 2021, a young woman was raped in the street, in Dordogne.
That evening, it was around 12:30 a.m. when Virginie (1), then aged 35, left her job in Périgueux to walk home to Boulazac-Isle-Manoire. After the Total gas station, she was violently attacked by a man who had started following her a few meters before. He rapes her and, as she struggles, beats her.
Three years later, Virginie is preparing to face the man who is accused of having attacked her. He will be tried before the Dordogne Assize Court for two crimes (rape and attempted murder), from this Wednesday November 20 until Friday 22. The victim, who planned to request the closed session, agreed to deliver his testimony to “Sud Ouest”.
Her story is that of a traumatized woman. “Before that, I had never had any fear,” she says. I didn't have a license and I liked to walk home. I had been doing it every day for a year, with music in my ears. Nothing had ever happened to me. »
Arrested thanks to cameras
Virginie is incapable of recounting the attack itself, of putting it into words, even if she remembers the event. “It’s engraved. I'm not sure I remember everything, but his face, yes… I saw myself dying. » She was tackled to the ground in a park and beaten. The man punched him in the face and stomach, before fleeing when he saw cars passing by.
Virginie found the strength to return home, trembling. Her partner took her to the emergency room, where she was prescribed fifteen days of total incapacity for work. For the mother of two children, a long process began. “It takes time to realize,” she said. I remained in denial for a while. Sometimes I still don't accept it. But we have no choice, we must move forward. »
“I'm afraid of being confronted with him, it's going to be hard. But I have no choice »
Five days after the attack, thanks to video surveillance cameras, the suspect was arrested. A police officer immediately called Virginie to reassure her: “I made her repeat it three times to find out if it was true,” she remembers. It was a real relief, because I lived in Boulazac and I couldn't go out. »
Since then, she has left the department with her family to turn the page. But the prospect of seeing her attacker again rekindles her trauma: “As the trial approaches, it’s not easy,” admits Virginie. Anxieties and nightmares return. I'm afraid of being confronted with him, it's going to be hard. But I have no choice. I'm preparing for it. What has driven me from the start are my children. I do it so that they have a role model of someone who doesn't let their fears overwhelm them. »
The importance of a complaint
Some victims do not dare to file a complaint. But Virginie insisted on becoming a civil party: “I am very proud to do it for my daughter; for all the people who failed to do it and so that it doesn't do it again. He gave me the worst night of my life. I would like him to serve a certain number of years in prison. I don't know how much it will be. The important thing is that he is convicted, that it is written. Consider him dangerous and pay for it. »
“It was when the police told me it was rape that I realized”
Virginie's attacker subjected her to vaginal and anal penetration with fingers. She was unaware that these acts amounted to rape: “I told the police that he had attacked me, but that I had managed to prevent him from raping me. I fell from a very high place. It was when the police told me it was rape that I realized. I knew right away it was serious, but not how bad. I didn't know that rape could be that too. »
Virginie sends a message to all victims, to those who would not dare to file a complaint: “We cannot let the attackers get away with it. You have to go all the way. Fighting until the end point. It's hard, but we don't fight for nothing. »
Despite her resilience, Virginie changed her way of life: “I had to get my driving license to leave my house and feel safe. Today, I only go out on foot during the day, because it happened at night. I feel fear, anxiety… Now that I live in the countryside, I think I will be able to overcome all that; but not in town. There is always this apprehension. »
The accused, Jordan Sobriel, aged 31 at the time, admitted the facts. He was under the influence of alcohol and cannabis. The court will deliver its verdict on Friday, November 22.
(1) At his request, his first name was changed.
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