A courthouse, here in Vesoul.
(illustration) -
SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP
A 21-year-old detainee, in the Rhône, accused of sexual assault and rape of minors, was released on Friday for witness tampering while he had contacted from his prison an alleged victim and a witness pending his arrest. trial.
Originally from Paraguay, the young man returned to detention at Villefranche-sur-Saône prison, where the criminal court judged him in immediate appearance for bribery and receiving the phone in prison.
Indicted in March 2019, he is suspected of having abused two young girls aged 12 and 16 at the time of the facts.
From his cell, he had contacted with his phone, via Facebook and Instagram, one of the two alleged victims and a witness pending his trial for rape of minors, which is to be held next Thursday at the assizes in Lyon.
On the other hand, the court sentenced him to six months in prison for concealing a telephone in detention.
"We no longer feel safe"
“My daughter is completely lost.
In prison he manages to have a telephone, he manages to exert pressure.
We no longer feel safe, ”testified Friday at the hearing, the mother of one of the alleged victims.
"A simple solicitation does not constitute pressure", pleaded the lawyer of the defendant.
The latter, according to the investigation, had already tried to influence one of his alleged victims by messages via messenger, claiming that the young girls were consenting.
He had also invoked the culture of his country of origin to justify sexual relations with minors with the consent of the parents.
In pronouncing the acquittal for the tampering of the witness, the president of the court insisted on indicating to the detainee: “It is just unthinkable that you should contact the victim.
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Miscellaneous
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Justice
Twelve years in prison for a father who raped his eldest daughter in Lyon
Minor
Rape
Trial
Lyon