A 21-year-old man was sentenced to thirty years in prison by the Assize Court of Pyrénées-Orientales for the murder and sexual assault of Priscillia Gonzales. On the night of July 6 to 7, 2019, during the firefighters’ ball in Estagel, a village 25 km from Perpignan, he dragged her into the cemetery and tried to rape her. Before stabbing him five times.
The girl had just turned 18. She suffered from mental retardation and mild motor impairment. She had been found the next morning between two graves, half naked. Confused by his DNA, the accused admitted the facts. He was found guilty of “murder, attempted rape and sexual assault on a vulnerable person” and sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment with a two-thirds security period, accompanied by a socio-judicial follow-up of 20 years and a care order.
“A fair and proportionate decision”
The Advocate General had requested life imprisonment with a 22-year security period against him, considering that his “intention to kill (was) undeniable”. But “the jurors nevertheless took into account the young age” and “the catastrophic childhood” of the young man. Pierre Alfort, lawyer for the accused, hailed a “fair decision” and “proportionate”.
“The family is satisfied because they know that he will spend at least 20 years in prison”, reacted Catherine Thibaut de Montauzon and Gérald Brivet-Galaup, lawyers for the victim’s family.