Women alleging rape and sexual assault in France call to abolish statute of limitations

A group of women alleging sexual assault or rape in France have formed a collective called Survivors' Voices and held a press conference calling on French authorities to abolish the statute of limitations for sexual crimes. Currently, adults have a 20-year limit to report rape or sexual assault, while minors have 30 years from the date of the crime.

The women, who accuse men including Jeffrey Epstein, former model agent Jean-Luc Brunel, and billionaire businessman Mohamed Al Fayed, said the restrictions make them feel their cases "don't matter simply because of the date".

Thysia Huisman, who alleges she was raped at age 18 in Paris by model agent Brunel, said: "Rape doesn't expire, trauma doesn't expire." Brunel was found hanged in his cell at La Santé prison in 2022 while being held on suspicion of rape and trafficking of minors.

Former BBC producer Lisa Brinkworth, who claims she was sexually assaulted while working undercover to expose abuse in the fashion industry by Elite Model Management boss Gérald Marie, announced she is taking her case to the European Court of Human Rights. Her case against Marie was dismissed because France's 20-year statute of limitations had expired.

Brinkworth said the BBC has refused to assist her case by not providing "vital evidence" from raw footage where she recorded her account of the assault immediately after it happened. She claimed she was directed not to report the assault at the time to avoid disrupting a high-profile documentary series.

A BBC spokesperson said the corporation is not trying to silence Brinkworth and has provided material to French authorities to help her pursue the matter. A lawyer for Gérald Marie said the allegations have already been thoroughly investigated in France and the case was closed without further action.