She testifies so that no one undergoes the same trauma. Last Thursday, three women were sexually assaulted in broad daylight in Biel. And today, one of them has decided to get out of silence.
She is the second victim to have crossed the road to the individual that day when she walked her dog in the Bärlet forest, as she explains to the Journal du Jura. Man exceeds her for the first time, greeting her with a big smile. The Biennoise will see him again three times during her walk. Then, around 11.45 a.m., he grips her buttocks by uttering obscenities. Despite a stroke, the man does not flee. The call for the police does not change anything either; He stays close to her. Finally, on the edge of wood, he will eventually leave when the victim starts to shout and he was heard by another woman who also started screaming from her balcony.
Today, the traces of this attack are still very present. “This fear, this fear is what remains for you,” she says, explaining that she had difficulty returning to the forest. Sleep has also become difficult. As for journeys to his work, they are now done either with a colleague or with her husband.
Testify to alert
The author has not yet been apprehended. Bernese cantonal police launched an appeal to witnesses to try to identify it. According to the description, he is a man aged 25 to 30, measuring between 1m80 to 2m, with the skin and dark hair, speaking in French and dressed in shorts at the time of the facts.
The Biennoise who agreed to confide in hopes that her testimony will allow the investigation to advance. But above all, she hopes that her words could serve as a warning. “I would really like the message going. I would like people to read the article and say to themselves “maybe I should be careful”, “she explains to the JDJ. She also enjoins all women victims to get out of silence. “Shame must change camps,” she concludes. /MAP-AMO
