2 French Cops Convicted in Gang Rape of Tourist

Two French policemen have been convicted of gang rape and sentenced to seven years in prison after a Canadian tourist reported being assaulted at the Paris police headquarters, the city's public prosecutor's office said Thursday. The case centered on an assault at 36 Quai des Orfevres, a famous address depicted in many crime movies and novels, the AP reports. Emily Spanton said she met a group of officers in an Irish pub in April 2014 and they invited her for a night tour of police headquarters. There, she claimed she was forced to drink whisky, perform oral sex, and was raped several times.

The AP does not usually identify alleged victims of sexual violence unless they agree to be named or come forward voluntarily and identify themselves, as Spanton did. Spanton first said that she had been raped by four officers before revising her testimony to three. Only two policemen have been brought to court. The officers, both members of the BRI force that specializes in serious criminal cases such as armed robbery, denied any wrongdoing and claim the alleged victim consented to sexual interactions during a booze-fueled evening. Judges initially threw out the case but the Paris prosecutor and Spanton won their appeal to have it brought before a jury. (Five street performers were kidnapped and gang raped in India.)