“Earth pot versus iron pot. » This is the formula chosen by the Attorney General, Philippe Courroye to summarize the case. The story of a young apprentice who endured a smear campaign from her former apprentice supervisor, the bar owner she had long admired and whom she accused of raping her just three weeks after her arrival at the establishment.
This Saturday, November 15, to everyone’s surprise, the criminal court finally decided to strengthen the iron pot. Alex Ursulet, former lawyer for serial killer Guy Georges, has been acquitted. The criminal court deemed there was insufficient evidence to explain the rape.
“To upset him would be to expose myself to very difficult working conditions”
For seven years, the young woman claims to have been raped behind the closed doors of her office, in January 2018. She assures that that day, during lunch, Alex Ursulet asked her about her sexuality, thus creating a mechanism of domination. When they returned to the office, he explained that he had been forced to pick up an object that had fallen on the floor. That’s when according to her version, Alex Ursulet lifted her dress, lowered her tights and forced digital penetration on her.
But the criminal court did not accept this version. During the trial, he particularly focused on the very special relationship that existed between this criminal lawyer, then 61 years old, and his young intern, who was 23 years old. In particular, there was talk of an exchange in which the aspiring lawyer assured that he was “completely devoted to her.”
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A way to fulfill his employer’s expectations, but the victim still confirmed it in court. “Making him upset means I am faced with very difficult working conditions,” the young woman insisted. Undoubted elements weigh in the balance.
Alex Ursulet paints a portrait of a young woman with inappropriate behavior
Alex Ursulet has continued to proclaim his innocence since the start of his trial. “What I have said from day one is that I am not guilty of the facts of which I am accused,” he repeated again this Friday. Since the start of the affair, Jacques Verges’ former partner has painted a portrait of a young woman with inappropriate behavior.
According to his version, that day, he called the prospective lawyer to end their collaboration because of his behavior. And when the next day, the intern slammed the firm’s doors, the legal professional initiated a particularly vicious defamation action against his entire network. He even called the law school in Bordeaux (Gironde) where he attended to complain about this fragile intern, an alcoholic and even a drug addict, in his words.
Before the criminal court, Alex Ursulet stuck to this version, the version he had defended since the beginning of this case seven years ago. His lawyer, Me Fanny Colin, argued that there was “more than reasonable doubt” in the case.
“There is someone in this room who is lying”
If the court agrees by acquitting him, the Attorney General isn’t sure, far from it. In his request, Philippe Courroye denounced the “victim position” adopted by Alex Ursulet during these five days of trial, in which he “singed a song of slander”. The Attorney General did not fail to point out the “inconsistencies” and “contradictions” of criminal lawyers. On the contrary, he praised the reporter’s consistency in his statements.
» There is someone in this room who is lying. Who is the trainee or the supervisor? » he said, starting his list of demands. «The lies are on this side of the bar,» he finally concluded, pointing to Alex Ursulet, who listened to him, sometimes holding his gaze in disbelief, sometimes looking away, sometimes frowning or shaking his head.
The Attorney General had requested a criminal sentence of 13 years in prison with a warrant of commitment. The criminal court, consisting of five professional judges rather than a popular jury, decided otherwise.
If the judge considers that sexual intercourse has indeed occurred, then the judge states that the intention to commit rape cannot be proven. And decided to free the former tenor of the bar. “This is a cynical decision that requires a new trial,” asked Me Thibault Lafourcade, a lawyer for the civic party.
