‘I am shocked and outraged’
Ontario woman whose allegations of sexual assault in France had recently cleared a key legal hurdle learns judge has tossed out case against two cops
Just weeks after France’s public prosecutor recommended two Paris police officers should face criminal charges for the alleged gang rape of a Toronto woman in 2014, a panel of French judges has ruled to dismiss the case, finding there is not sufficient evidence against the officers to merit a trial.
“I am shocked and outraged by the judges’ decision,” Emily Spanton, the Canadian tourist who alleges she was raped by two officers inside Paris police headquarters, said Wednesday.
Spanton, the 36-year-old daughter of a high-ranking Toronto police officer, came forward to share her story with the Star this week, after a two-year investigation into her allegations of gang rape.
Following the prosecution’s recommendation, the final step for Spanton’s case to proceed to trial was a stamp of approval from a panel of French investigating judges. Spanton’s lawyer, Sophie Obadia, recently told the Star the judges’ sign-off on the trial was highly likely given the prosecution’s “well-argued, precise” argument.
Reached at her Paris office Wednesday, Obadia was surprised and said she would appeal the judges’ decision immediately.
“This is not the end,” Obadia said.
Obadia called the judges’ decision “incomplete,” saying one of the major flaws was not giving enough weight to Canadian psychiatric reports concluding that Spanton’s account of the alleged rape was reliable, and that she was suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder as a result of the ordeal.
Multiple French media outlets reported Wednesday that the public prosecutor’s office is also launching an appeal of the decision, a move that could send the matter to the French Court of Appeal.
Sébastien Schapira, the lawyer of one of the two Paris officers, said in an email that his client “would like to turn the page on this baseless process that has ruined his life.”
Due to the appeals by Spanton and the prosecution, however, “the fight goes on.”
“This is exhausting for him, but he has confidence in justice,” Schapira said.
The names of the officers alleged to have gang-raped Spanton cannot be published because of a provision in French law that prohibits the identification of police officers working in certain units. French media have reported the officers, 37 and 46, were from a prestigious anti-gang unit and were suspended after Spanton’s allegations prompted an investigation.
Spanton’s allegations stem from April 23, 2014, when she was a tourist in France and was drinking alone at an Irish pub across the street from 36 Quai des Orfèvres, the famed Paris police headquarters.
A group of about 10 officers from the Paris police anti-gang brigade were also drinking inside the pub, and Spanton soon joined them. The group drank together, then a few officers and Spanton decided to go to the police headquarters across the street so Spanton could get a tour.
Asource close to the case said Spanton told investigators that, once inside, she was walked past two security checkpoints, given scotch inside someone’s office, then raped by at least two officers. She then ran away from the officers and flagged down a police officer inside the station and reported she had been raped.
Schapira, the lawyer for one of the accused police officers, has previously told reporters his client claims he had consensual sex with the victim. The other officer involved denied having intercourse with Spanton, according to French media.
Attempts to reach the lawyer for the other officer were not successful Wednesday.
But Spanton told the Star she was exceedingly intoxicated on the night of the alleged assault and “was in no state to give consent.”
According to a source close to the investigation, the prosecutor’s recommendation that the case go to trial came after a comprehensive probe — led by a French investigative judge — that found incriminating evidence against the officers, including an explicit text from one officer to another.
“Hurry up, she is a partouzeuse” — French slang referring to a woman who has sex with multiple partners at one time. According to French newspaper Le Figaro, the text message was deleted on the sender’s cell but found on the recipient’s phone.
Last September, more than100 officers and staff at the Paris police headquarters were asked to give DNA samples to aid in the investigation. French media reported at the time that three DNA traces were found on Spanton’s underwear, two belonging to officers who are now under investigation and a third that had not been ID’d. French media have since reported the third DNA sample has still not been identified.
Spanton was required to undergo psychological reviews during the investigation. French media reported the results were contradictory.
One report found she was suffering from PTSD but had given a dependable description of the facts. Another stated she has a tendency to overdramatize and that, because of her personality and level of alcohol, the psychologist had strong reservations about relying on her testimony alone.
By email Wednesday, Spanton said she trusts her lawyers to “continue to fight for justice for me.”
“I have full faith that their appeal will correct this miscarriage of justice,” she said.