Four illegal immigrants between 18 and 24 years old were arrested on the night of last Tuesday, December 2, at the Forum des Halles shopping center in the Châtelet-Les Halles district, after gang-raping a 13-year-old girl in the bathrooms of a KFC restaurant.
The events, which have shocked the French capital, are being investigated by the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (Brigade de Protection des Mineurs) of the Paris Judicial Police.
According to initial information revealed by police sources, the victim was with a group of friends that afternoon in the underground shopping area of Forum des Halles, one of the most frequented places by teenagers in central Paris.
At one point, the minor became separated from her companions. The four suspects, who according to investigators had been following her, approached her and led her to the bathroom of the fast-food establishment located on level -3 of the complex.
Once inside the restroom, they forced her to perform sexual acts under threat and violence. The assailants are believed to have acted in a coordinated manner, which has led the Paris Prosecutor's Office to charge them with the crime of "gang rape of a minor under 15," a classification that significantly increases the penalties provided for (up to life imprisonment in the case of aggravating circumstances).
The ordeal of the minor ended thanks to the swift intervention of a witness. Visibly distressed and crying, the girl left the restaurant and recounted what had happened to a passerby, who immediately alerted the police.
Officers from the Anti-Crime Brigade (BAC) and the National Police arrived at the scene within minutes and located the four suspects still in the corridors of the shopping center, just a few meters from the KFC where the events had taken place.
