| Serial rapist brings terror to French campsites |
SAINT-DIDIER-SOUS-AUBENAS A suspected serial rapist is preying on young girls holidaying on campsites in the Ardeche region of central France, local police said on Friday.
A major investigation has been launched in the area and campsite owners have been asked to step up security following the rape of an 11-year-old French girl in the early hours of Wednesday. The victim was attacked as she slept in a tent on a campsite at Saint-Didier-Sous-Aubenas.
Officers are now linking the incident to several other sexual assaults that have taken place on campsites in the region since the end of June. As many as seven girls between the age of seven and 12, one of whom was Dutch, have been attacked in the area in the past six weeks.
The manager of the campsite where Wednesday’s rape took place was reluctant to speak to a reporter on Friday, but owners of other sites confirmed that they had taken steps to improve security.
These include the deployment of nighttime guards and requiring campers to wear wristbands, making it easier to identify registered guests.
Michele, the owner of a site at Vogue-en-Ardeche, said she was telling parents to keep an eye on their children but not to panic.
“I speak to people, I tell them to be vigilant, to look out for their children,” she said.
“Sometimes people can be too laid-back: we’re not a creche or a kindergarten.”
Christine Blanc, the president of the regional federation of campsites, called for a calm response to a situation that could have a serious impact on the tourist trade on which the remote region depends.
“For us, the theory of a serial rapist remains a rumour for the moment,” she underlined.
An artist’s impression of the suspected rapist - a man of around 40 - has been distributed to police forces in the region but has not yet been made public.
The Ardeche is one of France’s best-preserved wilderness areas and its river gorges and rich flora and fauna draw campers from all over Europe.
Agence France-Presse
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