A FRENCH COURT has postponed the trial of rugby players accused of gang-raping a student in 2017 after one of the main defendants was unable to appear in court following an accident.
The trial in the southwestern city of Bordeaux, the scene of the alleged rape by then members of the Grenoble team after a rugby match, had been set to open on Monday after a seven-year wait.
But the court ordered it take place instead from 2-13 December after one of the main defendants, Irishman Denis Coulson, 30, was unable to attend after a car crash last Wednesday.
“He had a very serious accident and is in hospital. We are not sure how the situation will evolve,” his lawyer Corinne Dreyfus-Schmidt said.
One of the lawyers for the plaintiff, a woman who has chosen to identify herself only as V. and is now 27, said the postponement was disappointing but necessary.
Former Grenoble players Coulson, New Zealander Rory Grice, 34, and 29-year-old Frenchman Loick Jammes stand accused of rape. They could face up to 20 years in prison.
Two former teammates, 31-year-old Irishman Chris Farrell — a member of Ireland’s Grand Slam-winning 2018 Six Nations squad — and New Zealander Dylan Hayes, 30, are being tried for failing to prevent a crime.
