The general prosecutor's office on Wednesday 20 October requested twenty years' imprisonment against the man on appeal for a series of rapes and sexual assaults in the Sénart forest between 1995 and 2000, based on the "
indisputable proof
" of DNA, immediately swept away by the "
doubts
" of the defense.
Read alsoReffs in the Sénart forest: why investigators suspect Aïssa Zerouati of more than 30 assaults
“
Contesting DNA is a struggle of the twentieth century,
” mocked Advocate General Marc Mulet before the Paris Assize Court, stressing the statistical strength of this “
queen of evidence
”.
Depending on the quality of the trace analyzed, it is "
1.6 billion times or even 130 billion billion times
" more likely that the DNA discovered on 16 of the 34 complainants belongs to the accused Aïssa Zerouati rather than to another. individual, decided Marc Mulet.
More than thirty rapes
In October 2020, Aïssa Zerouati was sentenced at first instance by the Assize Court of Essonne to twenty years imprisonment for more than thirty rapes, attempted rapes and aggravated sexual assaults in the Sénart forest, a sentence of which he appealed.
"
The risk of accidental correspondence is perhaps low but it exists
", replied the defense lawyer, Me Cloé Fonteix.
In the name of the defense, she raised the possibility of finding the author of the facts among possible members of the family of her client, originating "
from the north of Kabylia (Algeria) where the population is more endogamous
" than elsewhere. , she assured.
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In addition to the women on whom his DNA was discovered, 18 other victims were attributed to Aïssa Zerouati on the basis of their testimonies, all of which traced the contours of an individual with similar physical appearance and modus operandi.
This rather small man, still wearing a full-face motorcycle helmet, simulated a breakdown of his two-wheeler then violently assaulted these joggers and walkers when they passed him on the paths of the vast forest, 25 km to the south- east of Paris.
Vulnerable prey
Once subdued with fists, the assailant demanded of his prey - some particularly vulnerable because they were elderly or pregnant - fellatio or masturbation or raped them.
Throughout the three weeks of this trial, the accused, a father in his forties, said he was "
totally foreign to this story
", in front of the dozen or so victims who had moved.
Read alsoTorture, abuse, rape: a dissident community of La Famille targeted by serious accusations
If he had refused at first instance, Aïssa Zerouati also accepted a urological examination revealing that his penis measured 13 centimeters at rest while some of the victims considered
the rapist's penis
"
small
". "
The size of the sex is not that important
," argued Marc Mulet, judging these subjective assessments. "
Do not put aside this criterion because it suits (the accusation)
", pleaded Cloé Fonteix, brandishing the specter of "
judicial error
".
Mohamed Djema, another defense lawyer, wondered: why keep in the testimonies the elements establishing a concordance on the modus operandi and the physical appearance and not on the size of the rapist's penis?
"
The proof is absolute certainty, without a shadow of a doubt,
" concluded Me Gabriel Dumenil, calling on the jurors to consider the article of the Code of Criminal Procedure according to which his client "
is presumed innocent. and that doubt should benefit him
”.
The verdict is expected Thursday.
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