Overview

• The appeal trial began Tuesday in Créteil with a verdict scheduled for 2 or 3 October, and the maximum penalty is 20 years in prison.
• Seventeen women have again joined as civil parties over alleged offenses from 2014 to 2016 after contacts on dating apps or social networks.
• Accounts describe invitations to a studio for photo shoots followed by alcohol, rapid abnormal intoxication with suspected drugging, loss of consciousness, restraint and rape.
• Berrada denies the accusations, asserting that the encounters were consensual or never occurred, as his defense previously raised concerns about his ability to defend himself.
• The first-instance court highlighted an organized, serial modus operandi as the prosecutor sought 19 years, and the original sentence included an order to leave the territory.