The question of the age of consent was at the heart of a trial held before the Saint-Malo criminal court on Thursday. On the bench of the defendants, a 43-year-old man is accused of having had several sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl who was doing her 3rd year internship in her shop. According to West Francethe father, in a relationship with children, would have slept with the minor six times in March 2021.
The teenager, housed in a home for children in difficulty, would have been “surprised” by the questions about her private life addressed by her internship tutor. She would have “let” do, undergoing touching and then sexual relations, explaining that she was “not comfortable”.
The law has changed since the Pontoise affair
Can a 14-year-old girl consent to a man 30 years older than her? Especially when the latter is his internship tutor? The defense lawyer’s request for reclassification as sexual abuse was refused by the court, which sentenced the respondent to one year in prison to be carried out under an electronic bracelet, reports West France. A judgment accompanied by a probationary suspension of two years.
In France, the age of consent has been set at 15 since the law change in April 2021, i.e. one month after the charges against the manager of the Ille-et-Vilaine store. The law was changed after the outcry caused by the decision of the Pontoise court which found that an 11-year-old child was consenting when she had sex with a 28-year-old man. The man was eventually sentenced to eight years in prison for rape.