FROG COPS DENY RAPE CHARGES AS THEY ARE HEADED TO THE BASTILLE

Two French policemen are jailed seven years for raping Canadian tourist at famous Paris police HQ

By AFP and Tim Stickings

Daily Mail
January 31, 2019

Two French police officers have been jailed for seven years for raping a Canadian tourist at their headquarters in Paris.

Nicolas Redouane, 49, and Antoine Quirin, 40, met 39-year-old Emily Spanton at a bar near the fabled Quai des Orfevres headquarters in April 2014.

She then agreed to visit their offices at 'the 36', where both men were members of the elite BRI anti-gang unit.

The men denied raping her, saying they had had consensual sex, but they were convicted today after the court was persuaded by the victim's 'steadfast statements' as well as 'scientific and technical evidence'.

Prosecutor Philippe Courroye said they saw the woman as 'easy prey'.

The officers 'were not policemen, but usurpers unworthy of their badges, acting in the same way as those they pursue,' the prosecutor said.

Ms Spanton said she was raped by up to three men but although the DNA of three people was found, only two could be identified.

She told the court that she had been excited to see the '36' and thought 'there would be plenty of lights and people'.

But in the middle of the night, their fifth-floor offices were empty and Spanton said she was forced to drink whisky before being pushed to her knees.

Spanton, who lived in Toronto at the time, admitted to flirting with the officers in the bar, in poor French, but after drinking a while found she had 'no idea what they were saying'.

Both defendants sobbed as they gave their final statements on Thursday morning.

'I realise that as a police officer I should never have brought Emily Spanton to the BRI offices,' Redouane said, taking the stand just a few metres away from his accuser.

'All my life I've had good relationships with women. I never, never, never assaulted, attacked or raped Emily Spanton.'

Quirin said it had been a 'five-year nightmare' for him and his family.

'Maybe I was unfaithful, but I have never raped a woman. I never raped this woman.'

Quirin's lawyer Anne-Laure Compoint had argued it was not possible to prove beyond doubt that there had been a lack of consent.

The '36' is still used as police offices, but the headquarters have been moved to a new building in northwest Paris.

Ms Spanton waived her anonymity last year and spoke to the French media.

Giving evidence she said she was drunk when she met the men and 'closed my eyes and just wanted it to be over' as they attacked her.

On leaving the station, Spanton told police on duty downstairs she had been raped, but said she was treated like a drunk and told to 'go home'.

A few hours later she filed a complaint at another police station.

Spanton, who said she has been unable to work in the four years since the attack, said she was on medically-prescribed drugs at the time.