Protests will take place across France on Sunday in support of a woman allegedly raped by 20 firefighters when she was between 13 and 15 years old, reports The Guardian.
Her case is being examined in the country’s highest court this week and campaigners hope it will lead to an age of sexual consent being enshrined in law as it is in the rest of the European Union.
Julie* says she was raped by Parisian firefighters over a period of two years, having been groomed by Pierre, a firefighter who had assisted her during a severe anxiety seizure when she was 13 in early 2008. Three of the accused have admitted they had sex with her but say it was consensual. In a journal written shortly afterwards Julie says she was “terrified and paralysed with fear” at the time.
Based at the Bourg-la-Reine fire station in Paris, Pierre got Julie’s phone number from her medical file, in which her age was also recorded. Julie says he bombarded her with “affectionate messages”. Later, he asked Julie to undress via webcam and, when the child complied, passed her number to another firefighter who demanded the same.
Julie’s case will reach its conclusion on Wednesday at the court of cassation, the supreme court of appeal.