Eleven men tried in Valenciennes for sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl

Eleven men suspected of having had sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl appeared on Thursday April 25 before the Valenciennes criminal court, reports France Bleu Nord. The facts with which they are accused took place between October 2022 and April 2023.

Five of the defendants are being prosecuted for “use of prostitution of a minor” and six for “sexual abuse of a minor”, the difference being that the reports were for some priced and for others not. These eleven men, aged between 26 and 61, are also all suspected of having solicited and possessed pornographic images of the victim.

Investigations begin in April 2023

In this case, investigations began in April 2023, after the young girl’s parents were reported to the gendarmerie during an attempted runaway. The teenager was finally found in an agricultural building in Pas-de-Calais, with a 53-year-old man. In the young girl’s phone, investigators found sexual exchanges, pornographic photos and messages relating to paid sexual services. In particular, she used the online chat site coco.gg. A site already singled out in several cases of assault, notably that of Philippe Coopman, in Grande-Synthe.

The defendants appear free under judicial supervision, some with obligations of care. They face sentences ranging from 7 to 10 years of imprisonment. The victim will not be present at the hearing, to avoid any confrontation with the defendants, but his father will attend the proceedings. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m.