Gang rape of Jewish girl in Paris shocks France, stirs political tensions
France is reeling from the gang rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in the suburbs of Paris. The heinous crime was perpetrated by three underage boys. One of the attackers, whose anonymised photo was published by the newspaper "Le Figaro," was the victim's boyfriend.
The attack on the teenager was described by the "Times of Israel." The underage assailants led their 12-year-old victim to an abandoned aircraft hangar, where they brutally beat and raped her. They also threatened to kill the girl if she revealed the crime.
The attackers also mocked the girl's background. The 12-year-old is Jewish. According to the testimony of one of the offenders, the direct reason for the crime was the victim's failure to disclose her Jewish origin to her boyfriend. All three perpetrators admitted their guilt. The incident was reported on 18 June at 19:00 GMT.
Rape in France. Photo of the perpetrator shown
French media published an anonymised photo of one of the offenders. It is the 12-year-old boyfriend of the raped teenager. In the photo, which he posted in an Instagram story, he is sitting in the abandoned hangar - the very place where, according to "Le Figaro," the rape occurred.
The teenager is a fifth-grade pupil at primary school. He started "dating" his victim at the end of May.
Information obtained by the newspaper "Le Figaro" indicates that the attacker was not a diligent pupil. He often skipped classes and roamed around the suburbs of Paris. He spent a lot of time with girls he met on social media. He declared "hatred of Jews."
Journalists from "Le Figaro" also disclosed the content of conversations between the victim and the attacker. The teenagers sent each other "love confessions." The 12-year-old told her boyfriend that she was - like him - a Muslim. Her testimony indicates that she lied to avoid persecution from her schoolmates.
The rape case is one of the key topics of the French parliamentary election campaign. Politicians in France are accusing each other of "stoking anti-Semitic sentiments."
