Overview
- The cour criminelle de Paris cleared the 68-year-old attorney on Saturday evening after finding that sexual contact was established but intent to commit rape was not proven.
- Avocat général Philippe Courroye had earlier requested a 13-year prison sentence with an immediate detention order.
- The complainant, a former intern identified as “Camille,” testified that she was digitally penetrated in the office on January 30, 2018, describing a state of shock.
- With no uncontested physical evidence, the case relied on testimonies and contemporaneous messages, as witnesses described her distress and the defense advanced an alternative timeline supported by a journalist.
- The plaintiff’s lawyer denounced the ruling as “cynical” and urged an appeal by the prosecutor, which the defense said it expected.