Two French police officers from an elite unit have been sentenced to seven years in prison for the gang rape of a Canadian tourist at Paris police headquarters. The incident occurred in April 2014 after an evening at an Irish bar, when the officers took Emily Spanton, 39, back to their office at 36 Quai des Orfèvres.
Spanton testified that once inside the fifth-floor office, the officers' attitude changed. She was made to drink whisky before being forced to perform oral sex and raped multiple times. She left the building about 80 minutes later, in tears, without her tights and carrying her shoes, and reported to an officer at the entrance that she had been raped.
The officers, Antoine Quirin, 40, and Nicolas Redouane, 49, both members of the Brigade de Recherche et d'Intervention, denied the accusations, claiming consensual sex. However, they were found to have destroyed evidence, including photographs and videos. Quirin initially denied any sexual contact but changed his story after his DNA was found on Spanton's underwear.
During the trial, Spanton faced intense scrutiny over her clothing, drinking, and sexual history, leading her lawyers to complain that she was being put on trial. The case had initially been dismissed in 2016, but an appeal by the public prosecutor and Spanton's lawyers brought it to court.
Prosecutor Philippe Courroye described the officers as having 'treated her as an object' and demanded a seven-year sentence. As the verdict was read, Quirin collapsed in tears. Spanton's lawyer, Sophie Obadia, said her client was relieved, stating, 'Women in France who have been raped don't have to justify their private life.'
The defendants' lawyers announced they would appeal the conviction. The case has drawn widespread criticism over the handling of the investigation, including the failure to secure the crime scene and the destruction of evidence. Spanton had waived her anonymity before the trial and claimed a third attacker was involved, but that person was never identified.
