A Canadian tourist has described how she was gang raped inside Paris’ iconic police headquarters by officers who piled her with whiskey.
Emily Spanton, who decided to waive her anonymity, has given her account of the events of April 22, 2014, in the French capital.
She met three French police officers at the Galway Irish pub in the city and they got talking about her love of the Quai des Orfèvres – headquarters of the Paris branch of the national police which is situated on the banks of the River Seine.
The alleged victim claims to have been taken there to drink spirits before her head was smashed against a table and she was repeatedly raped.
Emily Spanton, who decided to waive her anonymity, has given her account of the events of April 22, 2014, in the French capital
Spanton said she met three French police officers at the Galway Irish pub in the city and they got talking about her love of the Quai des Orfèvres (left) – headquarters of the Paris branch of the national police which is situated on the banks of the River Seine
View of the stairs at Quai des Orfèvres during the shooting of the film “24 Jours” (24 days) in Paris on October 19, 2013. Spanton says she was attacked inside this building
Emily Spanton talks through what she recalls of the night in 2014 from her home in Ontario, Canada
In an interview with France 3 TV from her home in Ontario, Spanton said she had been ‘fascinated’ by the building having seen so many films featuring it.
She did not want to pass up the opportunity to visit the legendary location and was given a tour by the officers.
But the mood turned sinister, she said, when they tried to force her to drink large amounts of whiskey.
‘It became very different when I refused to do what they wanted,’ she told France 3 TV.
‘They smashed my face against the desk. I was stunned, I was seeing stars. I couldn’t see anything for a while. I couldn’t see them either, they were behind me.’
A police officer makes his way through the entrance of the Paris police HQ
Spanton claims she was raped repeatedly while her head was held down against the desk before being dumped on the street outside.
A female police officer spotted her outside the headquarters and took the alleged victim to a nearby hospital where doctors detected signs she may have been sexually assaulted.
Spanton filed a rape complaint and flew home to Canada.
The three officers were arrested and, after the tourist went through a lengthy appeal process, two of them are now set to stand trial although a date has yet to be set.
Her lawyer Sophie Obadia said overturning the decision to throw the case out last year ‘restores the dignity’ of her client.
‘She has been dragged through the mud during this investigation,’ her lawyer told The Local.
‘The judicial authorities have finally recognised that this woman, who is a foreigner and in a vulnerable position, has been sexually abused,’ she added.
One of the officers claims to have had consensual sex with the woman, while the other initially denied having any relations with her but later said there had been ‘reciprocal touching’ between the two.
DNA belonging to the men was found on Spanton’s underwear, along with a third strain belonging to another unknown person.
The force launched a huge operation in an attempt to find the third suspect, but after samples were taken, the third DNA strain remains unidentified.
The alleged victim was found outside the police headquarters, pictured, by a female officer who took her to hospital
Back in June 2017, prosecutors argued the woman’s ‘free and cheerful behaviour’ did not indicate consent.
Their client was staunch in her assessment of the events.
‘There is no other word for it. It’s rape,’ she told France 3 TV.
‘When I hear [the accused police officers] I want to stand up and shout “I am not a liar, this really happened to me, how dare you”.
‘Before I was a happy person, open but now I am closed and isolated. That’s why this trial is very important for me.’