Harrowing security footage has captured the moment a visibly distressed Australian woman sought refuge inside a Paris kebab shop after being gang raped – only to be confronted by one of the men who had assaulted her minutes earlier.
French authorities have launched a major investigation into the brazen attack, which took place in the early hours of Saturday morning in the northern Pigalle district, just days before the Olympics begins.
The women had spent Friday night drinking in the bars and clubs around the Moulin Rouge cabaret before the men approached her in an unspecified location.
She told police she was set upon by a pack of five men ‘of African appearance’ and brutally raped at about 5am before escaping and seeking safety in the nearby Dounia kebab shop.
CCTV footage from the late-night Lebanese food restaurant, located on the Boulevard de Clinchy in the city’s 18th arrondissement, shows the terrified 25-year-old cowering in the shop and begging the owners for help as staff and fellow patrons try in vain to comfort her.
A man then enters the kebab shop, only for the woman to gesture that he was a member of the group that had attacked her only moments ago.
The alleged rapist then approaches her and pats her on the back before placing an order for some food.
A diner then confronts the alleged rapist, taking a swing as staff jump in to break them up. The man then leaves the restaurant.
Staff and patrons continue to console the woman until police arrive at the scene and interview her about the devastating ordeal, before she was taken to Bichat hospital.
The woman, who was described as having ‘her dress inside out’, also claimed her mobile phone had been stolen.
Harrowing security vision has captured the moment a visibly distressed Australian woman sought refuge inside a Paris kebab shop after being allegedly gang raped. People are pictured helping the woman, who is blurred, outside the kebab shop
The Australian woman sought refuge inside the Paris kebab shop only to be confronted by one of the men who’d assaulted her minutes earlier. Bystanders are pictured speaking with the woman, who is blurred, and police
The footage is likely to form critical evidence as French authorities investigate the alarming incidents, which has cast a pall over the city’s Olympic Games opening ceremony later this week.
The woman was said to be ‘disoriented and unable to speak a word of French’ as she told police what had happened. She was reportedly unable to give details on the exact place or circumstances surrounding the attack.
‘Her recollection of the evening is extremely hazy, but she says up to five men raped her,’ said an investigating source.
‘She was seen wandering around Pigalle, while in a state of some confusion and distress.
‘Staff working in a kebab shop saw that her dress was on backwards when she went inside to seek help,’ said the source.
Paris prosecutors would not comment on the video on Tuesday, but they confirmed a judicial enquiry had been opened into the ‘gang rape’ allegation.
They said no arrests had yet been made, and did not issue any descriptions of any suspected attackers.
The woman reportedly had booked a flight home for the day after the attack but is now understood to be staying on in Paris to assist police with the investigation.
The Boulevard de Clinchy, famed for its arts and theatre outlets, is in the centre of Paris’s famed red-light district, with a lap dancing club and a sex shop located next to the kebab shop where the woman took refuge.
It is also less than three miles from the Stade de France, which will be provide the centre point to the Olympics, which opens on Friday.
Parisian police want to avoid fear being spread among tourists as hundreds of thousands flock to the French capital for the Olympic Games, with Paris Prosecutor’s Office confirming a thorough investigation was underway.
A diner confronted the alleged rapist (blurred), taking a swing as staff jump in to break them up
‘The investigation into the charge of gang rape likely to have been committed on the night of July 19 to 20 has been entrusted to the second judicial police district,’ Paris Prosecutor’s office said.
Alliance Paris Police Union said investigators will ‘do everything to quickly identify the individuals and bring them to justice’.
‘It is now essential work out exactly what happened on the evening, based on CCTV footage, and other technical evidence,’ the spokesman said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the Australian Embassy in Paris is ‘making urgent enquiries with French authorities following reports of an Australian citizen assaulted in Paris’.
‘The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade stands ready to provide consular assistance,’ it said.
The shocking attack is the latest in a string of rapes to take place in the French capital.
In June, a young British woman was raped during an annual street music festival in central Paris.
The tourist was found crying as she stumbled through the streets of Paris’ 1st arrondissement in the early hours after she was attacked and subsequently robbed, according to a police source.
She was clutching her underwear in a state of significant distress hours after leaving a concert at the Olympia hall – one of hundreds of events held across France on June 21 to mark the ‘Fête de la Musique’ – known as ‘Make Music Day’ in English.
She later told police she was accosted by several men and pulled to a secluded area where they raped her and stole her phone, according to Le Figaro.
The woman told police she was set upon by a pack of five men ‘of African appearance’ and brutally raped at about 5am before escaping and seek safety in the nearby Dounia kebab shop
Police have now said they fear that the attack may have been recorded during the assault, which follows similar attacks at the event.
Earlier in June, a 12-year-old Jewish girl was raped in abandoned hangar.
The girl from Courbevoie, in the Hauts-de-Seine suburb northwest of the French capital, told police that she had been raped at the weekend by three youths – one of whom she said was her ex-boyfriend.
Investigators heard how the gang grabbed her while she was sitting in Courbevoie’s Henri Regnault square with her boyfriend and dragged her to a derelict warehouse in the nearby La Defense district to carry out the attack.
A police source said the youths forced her into sex acts ‘while uttering death threats and anti-Semitic remarks’ amid the heinous attack – as the ex-boyfriend reportedly accused the victim of ‘hiding her Jewish religion’ from him.
In January, an American woman told police she was ‘raped and left at the side of the road‘ while visiting Paris to attend Fashion Week.
French daily Le Parisien said that the tourist was raped by two men after taking drugs that one of them had given her.
The latest rape comes despite an increased police presences on the streets of Paris ahead of the Olympic Games.
Armed guards have been spotted patrolling the city’s boulevards and venues, while metal barriers now line the Seine.
A huge force of some 45,000 police officers drafted in from 43 countries and 18,000 soldiers will make up the defence system.
But alongside human efforts, several aerial units will also be involved in the ‘unprecedented’ operation, including Rafale fighter jets, AWACS surveillance flights, Reaper surveillance drones and helicopters with expert snipers on board.
There is a huge security presence in Paris ahead of the Olympics, which begins on Friday
Some 1,700 members of the British police force are already supporting French officers in Paris and Marseille as well as UK sniffer dogs that have been handpicked by French authorities.
Images from Paris today show the city behind rows of metal barriers as locals and tourists dine at restaurants behind perimeter fencing near the River Seine – where the opening ceremony is set to take place on Friday.
The four-mile metal barricade was put in place by the Paris Police Prefecture and will remain throughout the Games to prevent and deter any trouble.
Dubbed the SILT, or the ‘belt of steel’ the anti-terrorism fencing is ultimately the first line of defence and were initially erected on July 18.
Anyone who wants to enter the protected area will need to scan a QR code to me it into the gated part of the city.
All cars are also banned from entering certain zones around some of the event venues with solely emergency vehicles allowed through.