Andorra Rape Trial Ends: French Tourist Faces 8 Years for Nightclub Assault

A trial at Andorra's Tribunal de Corts over an alleged rape in the bathrooms of a nightclub in Andorra la Vella has concluded, with the case now awaiting a verdict.

The incident occurred in the early hours of 27 October 2024. Prosecutors and the private accusation maintain that a French tourist committed aggravated sexual assault amounting to rape. They seek eight years and two months in prison, a 10-year restraining order, 20-year expulsion from the Principat, and €22,000 in compensation for physical and psychological damages plus civil liability.

According to their account, the woman initially consented to sexual contact, but asked the man to stop up to four times as it caused her pain. He ignored her pleas and continued with violent penetration, even covering her mouth as she called out to friends. Medical reports confirm a tear in her vaginal canal, abundant blood on her clothing—and on the accused's underwear—along with objective injuries incompatible with consensual sex. Her account remained consistent across statements to friends, nightclub staff, police, experts, and the court. Witnesses saw her crying immediately afterward and noted the blood.

The prosecution highlighted the accused's shifting statements—up to four versions—as evidence of his lack of credibility. The woman's friends corroborated her immediate distress.

The defence insists no crime occurred, describing the encounter as brief and consensual, involving kisses, touching, and a short oral act, with failed attempts at vaginal sex due to the man's inability to maintain an erection. No effective penetration took place, they argue. They challenged the timeline from security footage as inconsistent with her version, the absence of blood on the accused's hands or penis, and no police confirmation of blood in the bathroom. They also noted his calm, affectionate behaviour afterward, without fleeing.

In a final twist during closing arguments on the third day of hearings, the defence claimed the woman returned to the same nightclub about a month later—on 6 December 2024, after testifying at the Batllia—to party, citing payment records. This, they said, undermines her claimed psychological trauma, as questioned by forensic experts. Prosecutors dismissed this as unproven and not in the case file.

The defence attributes some inconsistencies in the accused's statements to poor advice from his initial lawyer and seeks his release.

In his final remarks, the accused described prison life as "very complex" due to language barriers, difficulty socialising, bathroom-related trauma, and inadequate care. He expressed regret over missing half his son's life and a wish to return to France with his wife.

The tribunal will now deliberate on the sentence.