French policeman charged with rape of British tourist

A French policeman has been charged with rape and sexual assault of a 37-year old British tourist in the south of France.

The man was part of the direction interdépartementale de la police nationale des Bouches-du-Rhône (DIPN 13), in the commune of Aubagne.

After a hearing on Sunday, September 14, he was been charged with “rape and sexual assault by a person abusing the authority conferred on him by his position”, and remanded in custody. 

A second police officer was charged with “wilful failure to prevent a crime or offence against the integrity of a person”, and placed under judicial supervision. 

A third officer was charged with being an “assisted witness” to an alleged crime.

Details of the incident were confirmed to The Connexion via a press statement sent from the Marseille public prosecutor.

British woman’s complaint

The British woman who made the complaint was herself taken into custody on the evening of September 9-10, after police apprehended her in an alleged state of intoxication on a public road.

She claims that she was placed in the back of a marked police vehicle by three officers, and at least one of them assaulted her in the presence of other officers during her journey to the police station.

She said that while handcuffed in the backseat, one of the officers kissed her and ‘digitally penetrated’ her.

She filed a complaint at another police station the next day.

Following the complaint, the Marseille public prosecutor’s office opened an inquiry. The three police officers accused in the women’s complaint were taken into custody.

They were then brought before an investigating judge at the weekend, after having been questioned by the police’s own watchdog, the Inspection Générale de la Police Nationale (IGPN).

The DIPN13 has now also opened its own investigation,