A 34-year-old Moroccan migrant has been sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and placed on France’s sex offenders’ list after being found guilty of raping a 59-year-old woman at knifepoint.
The attack took place in the northern French city of Cherbourg on May 19, 2017, when the victim, upon leaving a bar in the city center, was approached by her knife-wielding assailant who forced her to follow him to a nearby apartment where she told police he threw himself on her and raped her.
The victim did not know her attacker, but police were able to identify the man due to the description she provided to authorities the day following the attack.
Upon his arrest, the attacker denied the charges, claiming such a crime was against his values. However, traces of his sperm were found on the victim’s sweater and a sanitary napkin used following the attack. Attempting to explain the discovery, the attacker claimed the napkin had been used during an encounter with a prostitute.
The Assize Court of La Manche found the Moroccan-born defendant guilty of rape with a weapon following a behind-closed-doors trial on Friday and Monday, and sentenced him to 10 years in prison and five years of probation following release.
Furthermore, he is forbidden from contacting his victim for life or risks a further custodial sentence of two years, is prohibited from possessing a weapon for 10 years, and has been registered on the sex offenders’ list in France.
