At around 6.30pm on Friday, near the Thionville sub-prefecture, the man first aggressively demanded car keys from a woman in a parking lot. The woman struggled and fell to the ground. The man then continued to assault her before sexually abusing her. With the assistance of a neighbour, the victim managed to repel the attacker.
However, a few metres away, the assailant targeted another woman, violently attacking her, despite the fact that she was accompanied by her husband. The husband intervened, thwarting the assault.
Promptly alerted, Thionville police arrested the man, who claimed not to remember the events.
A third woman later filed a complaint for a similar assault on the same day, at the same time, using a matching modus operandi and description.
It remains under investigation whether the assailant is the same in all incidents. The suspect is currently detained and subject to investigation.
Mayor Pierre Cuny responded to the disturbing events by organising a crisis meeting at the town hall the next day. He condemned the “recurring problems of incivility in this part of the town, with dropouts getting drunk and then becoming aggressive.”
In response, a police patrol has been deployed in the area from 4pm to 8pm, with Parc Wilson and Parc Napoléon closing at 7pm instead of 9pm.
