On February 15, a student from the IEP in Toulouse was indicted for rape after the publication of the testimony of another student. This indictment has just been canceled.
The investigation is still in progress but should end with a dismissal. The indictment of a Science Po Toulouse student accused of rape by one of his comrades has been quashed, BFMTV has learned, confirming daily information La Dépêche du Midi.
The affair had caused a stir last February. On February 6, a second-year student filed a complaint after posting a lengthy letter to an inter-student group on Facebook. She then explained that she had been raped by another IEP student. “I was crying in your arms and you forced me,” said the young woman in a video. Facts that would have occurred in 2018 during an integration evening.
A judicial review lifted this summer
A few days later, a 22-year-old fourth-year student was taken into custody and then charged with rape. The young man, who disputes the facts, had been left free under judicial control. This summer, these various obligations were lifted by the examining magistrate named in this case.
For several months, investigators carried out numerous investigations, the conclusions of which were sent to the examining magistrate this summer. Among them, a testimony, that of the “confidante” of the complainant. “She had told him that she was happy with me”, explains the student implicated with La Dépêche du Midi.
“The information was examined in the light of the elements that we provided and the testimonies collected by the investigators, explains Me Séverine Bouchaib who, with Me Julien Aubry, defends the young student. The nature of the relations did not correspond to what the Complainant described. The seasoned investigators verified that the relationships they had had were not under a grip, coercion or threat. “
“He is relieved”
On Monday, the examining magistrate announced the dismissal for examination of the young man, still educated at Science Po Toulouse. The latter is now placed under the status of assisted witness, an “unprecedented” situation which, according to his lawyers, should result in a dismissal. “He is relieved, he wants to turn the page, explains his lawyer. He wanted his honor to be washed. My client was pilloried, he played the student aggressor who enjoys an evening of integration. “
The young girl’s testimony had indeed triggered, last February, a wave of testimonies gathered under the hashtag #SciencesPorcs. “The freedom of the victims to speak is fundamental, insists Me Bouchaib. It is very important but it must not be done in defiance of a certain number of principles, starting with the presumption of innocence. We must leave justice. do its job.”
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