Found guilty of raping his cousin, a 23-year-old resident of St-Pierre was sentenced to three years in prison before the intermediate court on June 19, 2024. At the time of the events, he was 17 years old while the victim was 24 years old.
In their judgment, magistrates Anusha Rawoah and Kesri Soochit considered that there is no reason for the declarant to lie in this case. If she had really given consent to the sexual act and had been ashamed of it afterwards, she could have simply remained silent. According to the magistrates, the prosecution established the accusation “beyond reasonable doubt”. Hence the guilty verdict against the accused.
On the other hand, they argued that rape is a serious offence. The accused, who pleaded not guilty, expressed remorse and maintained that he did not use any violence against his cousin. In fact, on 1 June 2020, the accused and the declarant had gone to a birthday party held at the cousin's house. The young woman had taken her four-year-old daughter there. The party ended in the early hours of the next day. In court, the declarant explained that she had planned to sleep at her cousin's house.
However, since there was no room at her place, she went to the accused's house. The young woman admitted that she had consumed alcohol. However, she pointed out, she was not drunk, because she had been looking after her daughter.
