A female University of Mons student was allegedly sequestered and raped in the back room of a convenience store by three men of Pakistani origin in the Belgian city of Mons. The suspects are now on trial as of Oct. 12, 2026, for aggravated rape and unlawful confinement.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Dec. 12, 2025, at a night shop on Rue de la Clef in Mons. The student, identified in reports as Laura, a pseudonym, entered the store around 1:30 a.m. after an evening out, first to buy cookies and later around 1:42 a.m., for a drink. A shop employee invited her to have a drink in the back room. She agreed while using a translation app to communicate with him and then followed him. While she was in the back of the shop, the other employees closed the shop at 2:29 a.m. with her still inside.
While she was with the men, the owner asked an employee to serve her whisky and Cola.
Concerned about the drinking the beverage, she texted her roommate: “I’m at the convenience store. If I don’t come back, call the police.”
After consuming the drink, her vision then blurred and she lost consciousness, according to Belgian news outlet L’Avenir.
She regained awareness around 6:34 a.m., alone in the back room, disoriented, with her clothes disheveled and without underwear. She then got up and left.
Garbage collectors later described seeing a terrified young woman looking over her shoulder. She reported sexual violence to her roommate and medical exams found male DNA in her vagina.
Police intervened at the shop, finding two men present and a third hidden in a cupboard. Investigators recovered the student’s underwear, which contained semen matching one of the three suspects.
The three men are all of Pakistani origin, including the shop owner and an employee. The police arrested the suspects.
One also faces a charge related to an alleged attempted rape of another customer in July 2025, which involved an attempt to force a kiss in the back room. All three deny the charges. The owner has claimed the student tried to steal €7,000 from his pockets, a version the prosecution rejects as it does not explain the scientific evidence.
In court a Monday morning, the public prosecutor treated the three as co-authors of the rape.
“None of the three justifies the closing of the shop while this young woman is inside,” the prosecutor stated, requesting sentences of four and five years.
The court also discussed a possible requalification of the facts as failure to assist a person in danger for two of the accused, while the defense lawyers pleaded for acquittal.
The student’s lawyer, Odile Maes, argued the men knew what was happening in the back room and shared responsibility, calling them “sexual predators.”
The victim was present in court and delivered emotional testimony, saying: “I have the feeling of having been thrown away like a broken toy that night. They tore away my dignity, my body, my friends, my family, my studies, and many other things. I demand justice.”
The student has described lasting effects including nightmares, isolation, fear of men, weight gain, and the loss of a student job, though she completed her first year of university with schedule adjustments. A judgment is expected in early November.
