A Tunisian national. 26-year-old Nidhal O., was sentenced to 11 years in prison and a permanent ban from the country by the Paris Criminal Court on Friday, September 26.
He was found guilty of six sexual assaults and one attempted rape, committed primarily in the Paris metro system. The prosecution had originally requested a 14-year sentence and a permanent ban from French territory.
Video of at least three of the sexual assaults were recorded and released to the public.
🇫🇷🔴 "it seems he is looking for prey."
Serial groper, Tunisian migrant Nidhal O., sexually assaulted 3 different women in the Paris Metro — all on camera.
He was arrested in December 2023 and was finally sentenced to 11 years in prison on Sept. 26.
The footage only covers 3… pic.twitter.com/zFp9X1fXh6
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) September 30, 2025The spree of attacks began on the night of December 5, 2023. Alicia, 18, was returning home on the metro when, during a connection at Miromesnil around 11 p.m., when Nidhal O. suddenly approached her, according to French newspaper Le Figaro.
“He grabbed my arm and pulled me against the wall,” she described during her hearing. He then placed his hand on her chest. Alicia, stunned, was on the phone with her sister, who heard the whole scene: “Let go of me,” “what are you doing,” “get out of here.”
🇫🇷🔴 On a Paris metro: "You French are poor sons of b**ches. It's Africa that’s rich. You motherf**ker."
"I f**k your mothers, in the name of Allah, in the name of Allah, I f**k their mother, in the name of Allah, you will see!" pic.twitter.com/pAWhgKH5lh
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) September 15, 2025These “screams” would cause Nidhal O. to run away.
She was the first in a string of victims over the following three nights. Later that same evening, at Temple station, a 31-year-old woman felt “hands placed on her,” this time on her buttocks. The attacker, identified on video surveillance, ran away and was lost in the crowd.
The predatory pattern remained consistent: spot a victim, approach, quickly attack, and then flee.
On the morning of December 6, Christine, 50, noticed Nidhal O.’s insistent gaze on the train. She got off at the at her stop, but as she climbed the stairs, he pursued her:
“He pushed me against the wall and touching my genitals over my clothes,”she later said during her hearing. Her screams forced the man to flee. She later confided that she has been unable to take the metro without extreme vigilance ever since.
The violence escalated shortly after when he attacked a 51-year-old woman, made her fall, and “tried to remove her pants while pressing his hand over her mouth to silence her screams.” The woman scratched his face, and the arrival of a passenger led him to flee once again. Two other women, including a 17-year-old at the Palais-Royal stop, suffered similar brutality within a matter of hours.
Finally, on the night of Dec. 8, Nidhal O. followed Chloé, 27, to her apartment building. He rushed in behind her, closed the front door, and attempted to force her onto the bed:”You’re going to be here for me, I’m going to have a relationship with you,” he told her. However, the woman’s screams were heard throughout the building.
A neighbor rushed in and said in court: “I heard screams, it was unbearable. I saw a shirtless man, I understood that I had to intervene.” Three men detained the Tunisian until police rushed in and arrested the suspect.
Nidhal O. had already been deported from Spain and Belgium before ending up in France. He was a known threat for past offenses across Europe and is described as “unstable and unpredictable.”
Addicted to cannabis, he is reported to have great difficulty managing his emotions and impulses. His behavior continued in detention, where he had a string of disciplinary incidents.
“Mr. O. is receiving special attention and increased security,” the prison report states.
Regarding his actions, he said that “there is a devil in my head and it is he who spoke and guided my hands.” However, court psychiatrists said he had no psychiatric condition that would preclude him from standing trial.
