A mother has described her anguish after her 5-year-old daughter was raped by a 62-year-old Chechen immigrant in the parking lot of a social housing hotel in Limay, west of Paris. The man was found naked with an erect penis when the mother approached. Reports indicate that the young girl was the victim of penetrative sex.
“I’m doing very badly; I’m suffering from what happened,” said Fatoumata, the 28-year-old mother of the young victim. “My heart aches so much, you have no idea. All I want is to leave here. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I don’t want to walk past that parking lot; I don’t want to hear about any of this anymore.”
The child has barely left the family’s hotel room since the alleged attack on Monday, relatives said, with the room now serving as a refuge from the outside world.
According to the family’s account, Fatoumata found her daughter sitting on the suspect’s lap inside a parked car. She said she struck the man to make him release the child after discovering him with an erection.
The suspect was known to families living at the hotel and had not previously raised concerns among residents.
“He was well-liked because he often accompanied families and children. He had never behaved strangely or inappropriately, with no prior record,” one witness who had known him for years told Le Parisien. “When we learned what happened on Sunday, we were horrified.”
The family had returned from a barbecue in Mantes-la-Jolie when the girl went downstairs while her mother was preparing dinner.
“While her mother was in the kitchen, Léa went downstairs to join this man who was offering pieces of watermelon. She wasn’t suspicious at all because she knew him,” said Fanta, the child’s aunt.
Fatoumata said the alleged rape has transformed her daughter’s personality.
“Since what happened, my daughter no longer smiles; she’s no longer joyful. Before, she laughed all the time; she’s lost her zest for life,” she said.
She added that the ordeal had revived memories of her own trauma.
“I myself am not doing well. My birthday is this Thursday; I won’t celebrate it. All of this reminds me of the rape I suffered in Libya, when I was trying to reach France.”
Despite the family’s horror, Fanta said they felt the French authorities had treated them seriously.
“It’s very difficult to go through all this. But still, we feel so much safer in France,” she said. “The police believed us; the officers took us seriously. They chased the rapist like they would have for anyone else.”
Remix News reported on the attack on Tuesday, noting the suspect was a Russian national of Chechen origin, and had been arrested after fleeing the scene. His vehicle was intercepted on the A13 motorway in the early hours of Monday.
The child was able to identify the suspect from a photograph, helping authorities to track his vehicle and detain him as he fled back toward Paris.
An investigation into the alleged rape of a minor remains ongoing.
