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Chart-topping French rapper Naps has been sentenced to seven years in prison for raping a young woman while she was asleep in October 2021 in a Paris hotel room.
The 40-year-old artist from Marseille, whose real name is Nabil Boukhobza, was convicted by the Paris criminal court, which cited an “absence of consent” in its ruling.
Judges noted that the complainant had consistently maintained she was asleep and said the “pain of vaginal penetration” woke her.
Boukhobza, who has more than three million subscribers on YouTube, and best known for his 2021 hit “La kiffance”, which spent 10 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the French charts, had been free during the trial.
When the verdict was delivered, the complainant broke down in tears of relief, while the rapper appeared visibly shaken and embraced his wife in court.
“With great relief, she was heard, believed, and recognised. Regardless of the sentence handed down, the court established her status as a victim after nearly five years of proceedings. So this is a real relief for her,” said the victim’s lawyer following the sentence.
Details of the case
The case stemmed from a complaint filed in October 2021 by a 20-year-old woman who said she had spent the evening at The Key nightclub in Paris after being invited by a promoter, along with two friends.
Naps was present at the club with his cousin and manager, a bodyguard and others. The women said they met him for the first time that night and were invited to join his table.
According to the complainant, the group later left the club to go to the rapper’s hotel near Gare de Lyon at around 4:30am. After consuming alcohol, cannabis and nitrous oxide, the rapper’s entourage gradually left, leaving him alone with the three women, who had been asked to leave their phones at the entrance.
The complainant told the court she was “groggy” and drifting in and out of consciousness when she felt someone pulling down her underwear. She said she woke to the pain of vaginal penetration and tried to push the rapper away. DNA traces matching Boukhobza were later found on her clothing.
Boukhobza denied the allegation, telling investigators the sexual encounter was consensual and that the woman “made sounds of pleasure”.
Following the sentence, Boukhobza’s lawyer Nabil Boudi said: “Of course we’re going to appeal. He categorically denies the charges brought against him throughout the proceedings. He has reiterated this, and has been consistent on this point. And today, of course, the decision is incomprehensible, so under these circumstances we will obviously appeal the decision.”
Additional sources • AFP