Despite many people believing women are the sole victims of sexual assault, a young man in France is proof otherwise.
Théo, a 22-year-old French worker, claims he was sexually assaulted by French police on Feb. 2. After he showed up at an emergency room covered in blood, doctors found he had serious injuries. The main injury was in his rectum and was caused by the forced penetration of a police truncheon. Because of the brutality of the injury, Théo required major surgery.
Théo, whose last name was not released, was in Aulnay-sous-Bois, north of Paris, when the incident occurred. He said the police intentionally sexually assaulted him after he confronted them about a different situation.
The victim’s report indicates that he approached a group of officers after one of them slapped a civilian. After he confronted them, he said the group took him around a corner and physically attacked him. He claims he did not try to run away from the scene.
“I told the officers, ‘You’ve torn my bag,’ to which they replied that they didn’t give a damn,” he said. “They all tried to grab me. I asked them why they were doing this, but they just continued to throw insults at me.”
Théo continued explaining that the officers continually spit on him and called him names, including “negro” and “bitch.”
“He told me to put my hands behind my back. They put handcuffs on me and then they told me to sit down,” he said. “They sprayed tear gas in my face, and then I had a pain in my buttocks. My trousers were lowered. I was in serious pain.”
After officials revealed video evidence of the sexual assault, police claimed that Théo’s pants “slipped down on their own.” The national police claim the attack is “very serious,” but they do not consider the incident a rape because of the penetration’s “unintentional character.”
Despite the denials of the attack, French Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux said officials charged one officer with aggravated rape and three others with aggravated assault. The group denies the charges, but officials suspended them from their positions.
