A top French prosecutor leading the inquiry into the alleged rape of a 26-year-old woman in a courthouse cell in northern Paris by two police officers confirmed on Sunday that one of the men filmed the incident with a phone.
"These are all elements that lend credibility to her account," Paris public prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, told French broadcaster France Info.
"And they raise questions about the reality of consent when one considers that this woman was being held in a courthouse holding cell — deprived of her freedom of movement and therefore in a situation of physical constraint — which must be taken into account when assessing this alleged consent."
The officers, aged 23 and 35, have been charged with rape and sexual assault by persons abusing the authority conferred on them by their positions. The men have admitted sexual relations but claim they were consensual.
The existence of the video was revealed by the newspaper Le Parisien. The four second-long film shows a sexual act, a source close to the case told the French news agency AFP.
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The woman who accused the two officers said the alleged assault took place on Tuesday night in Bobigny, prosecutor Eric Mathais said on Thursday.
She had been brought before the Bobigny public prosecutor's office for "acts of parental neglect," he added.
'Serious and unacceptable' actions
France's internal police investigation service, the IGPN, is investigating the case.
The Interior Minister, Laurent Nunez, who is in charge of the country's police forces, has described the officers' actions as "extraordinarily serious and unacceptable" and promised the utmost firmness if they are proven.
In a separate incident, a police officer is due to stand trial next year for raping a woman inside a police station in the Seine-et-Marne region, also near Paris.
The plaintiff, an undocumented woman of Angolan nationality, reported being raped twice by the officer in 2023.
She had gone to the station to file a complaint for domestic violence, French daily Libération reported.
France has been rocked by a series of high-profile rape cases in recent months, notably the case of Gisèle Pélicot, that have sparked a debate about consent.
On Wednesday France voted to change its criminal code to define rape as sex without consent – a vote hailed by supporters as a move from "a culture of rape to a culture of consent".
(with AFP)
