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In 2017, a man was accused of raping an 11-year-old girl, whom he believed to be consenting, because she had not refused. Only prosecuted at the time of the facts for sexual assault, he appeared, Wednesday, November 2, for rape before the court of Pontoise.
On this first day of the trial, Wednesday November 2, Sarah decided to face her alleged attacker, permanently supported by her psychologist. She was 11 when she crossed paths with the 28-year-old father. He appears today free, but is accused of rape. In April 2017, the man approached Sarah in a square. He assures that he did not know that she was then 11 years old. He offers to accompany him to his apartment building. Two sexual relations follow, during which the child does not struggle. His family immediately lodged a complaint for rape, but in the absence of violence and coercion, the aggressor was initially dismissed for sexual abuse, a peaceful offense of 5 years in prison.
Justice considered that Sarah had not expressed her non-consent. “The child was flabbergasted, she was frozen, she was afraid, and therefore she did not react”, argued the victim’s lawyer, Me. Aurelie Diebolt, in 2018. The case moved to the top of the state. The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, spoke, then the parliamentarians took up the question: can a minor who does not express his refusal to an adult be considered as consenting? A law has been passed establishing the minimum age of 15 years below which any sexual act with an adult is considered assault or rape. The law does not apply to Sarah’s alleged abuser, as it is not retroactive.