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What Happened A 28-year-old man had sex with an 11-year-old girl in the stairwell of his house. The lure apparently was that he told her he would teach her how to kiss. Afterwards, he threatened to ruin her reputation if she told anyone what happened. When she got home, she told her parents, and her parents went to the police.
11 Years Old So far, 11-year-old girl who was assaulted has a lot of support. At 11, she lacked the knowledge to know that a grown man would promise a kiss and aim for sex. She was unequipped to handle the aggression that he showed her or the threats that he made to her reputation. With no other options, she responded like a child should – she told her parents.
Multiple Attempts The perpetrator did not only approach the girl just once. He approached her two times prior to the incident. Disturbingly, this man has two children of his own.
French law According to the law and technicalities that his representation are using, there was no evidence presented that the 28-year-old grown man had been violent or constrained the 11-year-old girl. Meaning, that, she had "consented" to sex with him. Due to this technicality, the man will not be charged with rape, although many, the girl's attorney included, find this to be completely ludicrous.
The Charges As the charges were levied and the defense went to work, French prosecutors have decided not to charge the man with rape. Rather, the charges were changed from rape to the much lesser charge of sexual assault of a minor.
The Defense The defendant's defense attorney is arguing that he had the explicit consent of the fearless girl who has sent nude pictures of herself to strangers and was unaware of her age. (This has been combated by the girl saying she showed him a notebook that listed her age.)
The Family The girl's family has been rather insistent that the charges be rape. Their daughter, they said, was paralyzed and unable to defend herself. According to her mother. “She thought it was too late, that she didn’t have the right to protest, that it wouldn’t make any difference, so she went into autopilot, without emotion and without reaction”.
The Defense’s Arguments As is often the case with a manipulative adult, every possible loophole is being found and abused. The defense is attempting to morph the situation into a weird semblance of consent. The concept that the girl looked older than she was and ‘denuded’ herself to others in a public chat was brought up in an attempt to discredit the girl's innocence.
Her Attorney Carine Diebolt is disgusted with the adjustment in charges, denouncing them vehemently.“ We should not even have this debate when it comes to a child,” she said. “There is a difference between curiosity and consent to a sexual act with a 28-year-old guy in a staircase.”
The Argument Both the parents and her lawyer agree that the concept that a child can meaningfully and in full consciousness agree to sex with an adult is not possible. They lack the maturity to do so with full realization of what the act entails and means. “We should not even have this debate when it comes to a child,” Diebolt said.
Case Date The case will be judged in February 2018. Originally, the date was set for the man to be prosecuted on September 26th, 2017 but the defense managed to raise the procedural issue. If he did not handle her violently based on the technicalities of the law, he cannot be charged with rape.
Consent The current age of consent is 15, but having sex with a minor does not automatically qualify as statutory rape in France. Instead, the offense is punishable by a fine and five years in prison as it is considered a sexual offense.
Public Opinion Obviously, the public outcry has not been minor. Women’s advocacy groups in particular are against the arguments of the defense which are nothing if not shallow attempts at victim blaming. The adult in the situation knew better, took advantage, and is manipulating a system meant to protect the innocent. Children’s rights advocates are incensed, rightfully, and are urging a rewrite to the law that currently says an act can only qualify as rape if there is a threat of violence or actual violence during a sexual act.
Projected Outcome People are demanding that the law be changed for children’s sake as they are not mentally prepared and will have to carry the reality for the remainder of their lives. Submitting and consenting are not the same thing and many experts are using that information to lobby for change.
New Precedent There was already a notice published by the High Council for Equality between Women and Men in October 2016. The notice stated that there is a need for a statutory threshold. Anyone younger than the threshold cannot be assumed to have consented to any sexual act.
What Happened A 28-year-old man had sex with an 11-year-old girl in the stairwell of his house. The lure apparently was that he told her he would teach her how to kiss. Afterwards, he threatened to ruin her reputation if she told anyone what happened. When she got home, she told her parents, and her parents went to the police.
11 Years Old So far, 11-year-old girl who was assaulted has a lot of support. At 11, she lacked the knowledge to know that a grown man would promise a kiss and aim for sex. She was unequipped to handle the aggression that he showed her or the threats that he made to her reputation. With no other options, she responded like a child should – she told her parents.
Multiple Attempts The perpetrator did not only approach the girl just once. He approached her two times prior to the incident. Disturbingly, this man has two children of his own.
French law According to the law and technicalities that his representation are using, there was no evidence presented that the 28-year-old grown man had been violent or constrained the 11-year-old girl. Meaning, that, she had "consented" to sex with him. Due to this technicality, the man will not be charged with rape, although many, the girl's attorney included, find this to be completely ludicrous.
The Charges As the charges were levied and the defense went to work, French prosecutors have decided not to charge the man with rape. Rather, the charges were changed from rape to the much lesser charge of sexual assault of a minor.
The Defense The defendant's defense attorney is arguing that he had the explicit consent of the fearless girl who has sent nude pictures of herself to strangers and was unaware of her age. (This has been combated by the girl saying she showed him a notebook that listed her age.)
The Family The girl's family has been rather insistent that the charges be rape. Their daughter, they said, was paralyzed and unable to defend herself. According to her mother. “She thought it was too late, that she didn’t have the right to protest, that it wouldn’t make any difference, so she went into autopilot, without emotion and without reaction”.
The Defense’s Arguments As is often the case with a manipulative adult, every possible loophole is being found and abused. The defense is attempting to morph the situation into a weird semblance of consent. The concept that the girl looked older than she was and ‘denuded’ herself to others in a public chat was brought up in an attempt to discredit the girl's innocence.
Her Attorney Carine Diebolt is disgusted with the adjustment in charges, denouncing them vehemently.“ We should not even have this debate when it comes to a child,” she said. “There is a difference between curiosity and consent to a sexual act with a 28-year-old guy in a staircase.”
The Argument Both the parents and her lawyer agree that the concept that a child can meaningfully and in full consciousness agree to sex with an adult is not possible. They lack the maturity to do so with full realization of what the act entails and means. “We should not even have this debate when it comes to a child,” Diebolt said.
Case Date The case will be judged in February 2018. Originally, the date was set for the man to be prosecuted on September 26th, 2017 but the defense managed to raise the procedural issue. If he did not handle her violently based on the technicalities of the law, he cannot be charged with rape.
Consent The current age of consent is 15, but having sex with a minor does not automatically qualify as statutory rape in France. Instead, the offense is punishable by a fine and five years in prison as it is considered a sexual offense.
Public Opinion Obviously, the public outcry has not been minor. Women’s advocacy groups in particular are against the arguments of the defense which are nothing if not shallow attempts at victim blaming. The adult in the situation knew better, took advantage, and is manipulating a system meant to protect the innocent. Children’s rights advocates are incensed, rightfully, and are urging a rewrite to the law that currently says an act can only qualify as rape if there is a threat of violence or actual violence during a sexual act.
Projected Outcome People are demanding that the law be changed for children’s sake as they are not mentally prepared and will have to carry the reality for the remainder of their lives. Submitting and consenting are not the same thing and many experts are using that information to lobby for change.
New Precedent There was already a notice published by the High Council for Equality between Women and Men in October 2016. The notice stated that there is a need for a statutory threshold. Anyone younger than the threshold cannot be assumed to have consented to any sexual act.
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