They had all admitted to the robberies. But only one of the four defendants admitted to sexually abusing one of their victims. Nevertheless, the Seine-et-Marne Assize Court, in Melun, did indeed find two of these men guilty of gang rape, in addition to armed robbery.
The verdict came down on Friday evening: Jean T. and Khalid S. were sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, with a two-year socio-judicial follow-up. Babacar B. was sentenced to six years' imprisonment. And a sentence of five years in prison, three of which are suspended, was handed down to Sammad G.
These four young people from the Almont district of Melun, aged between 22 and 24, appeared this week before the criminal jury for having, on the night of August 4 to 5, 2020, attacked three prostitutes aged between 16 and 19, in a first apartment, located on rue Saint-Barthélemy. The victims, who were held up with a long gun that was never found and robbed of their money, did not appear at the trial.
The attorney general had asked for up to 15 years in prison
On the other hand, the mother of the family – who at the time was prostituting herself in a small house on rue Saint-Ambroise, also in Melun – had the courage to testify before the criminal jury. The trial was not held behind closed doors. With the help of a Spanish-language interpreter, the forty-year-old of Dominican origin recounted the fear of dying she felt that night.
She had opened the door to the man she thought was a client: the appointment had been made via a website. She had seen four men appear who had come to rob the young women. While two of them had simply searched her home for money, the other two had raped her at the same time. All of them then fled in a Peugeot 206, before being arrested in a street in Melun.
At the hearing, the four defendants swore that they had wanted to attack pimps that night, who "make a lot of money and don't file a complaint." It is an understatement to say that their versions differed from each other. So much so that the court struggled to understand who was where and who was doing what at what time. One of the four accused, Khalid S., has repeatedly denied his involvement in the rape, despite Jean T. formally implicating him. Prosecutor Marine Karsenti had asked for sentences ranging from 7 to 15 years in prison, with five-year socio-judicial follow-ups.