TTwo French police officers have both been sentenced to seven years each in prison for the rape of a Canadian tourist at the historic former headquarters of the Paris police.
The men, identified only as Nicolas R. and Antoine Q. under French law, denied raping the 39-year-old woman (who Earthpublishers has chosen not to name) in 2014, claiming that she willingly engaged in sex.
The crime took place at the 36 Quai des Orfevres police headquarters made famous by the Maigret detective novels by Belgian author Georges Simenon.
The court was “convinced” by “consistent statements from the victim” and by “scientific and technical elements”, including DNA expertise and telephone analyses, said Assize Court President Stéphane Duchemin.
“On the evening of April 22, 2014, the accused were not policemen, but usurpers unworthy of their badges, acting in the same way as those they pursue. That evening they went over to the bad side,” Philippe Courroye, prosecuting attorney, told the court.
According to Courroye, the story told by the policemen contained “clear elements of a cover-up and obvious inconsistencies.”
The case, which gripped French media, was heard for the past two weeks in a courthouse next to the former police headquarters.
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