A woman riding the ghost train at a fair in the Saint-Germain-en-Laye commune in France was sexually assaulted by an Algerian migrant dressed as a clown, according to police.
The woman was riding the ghost train ride at 1:30 a.m. on July 3 at the Fête des Loges, billed as the largest fair in France. As her wagon entered the labyrinth area of the ride, a clown reached out and grabbed her, and began to grope her breasts, “caressing them incessantly,” as the woman described to the police.
At the end of the ride, the clown then taunted the victim as she told a number of relatives that he had sexually assaulted her. The management and staff at the attraction defended the employee. The woman and the relatives went to the police, who placed the 27-year-old Bachir S., who was born in Algeria, under arrest.
It remains unclear why the employee was dressed as a clown and whether his outfit was a part of the ride.
Although France does not keep any crime statistics based on ethnicity, certain studies have found a serious crime problem in communities with high numbers of migrants. Furthermore, France’s public train networks found that 63 percent of those arrested for sexual assault and 92 percent for petty theft in public transport were foreigners
The fair where the sexual assault took place will be running until Aug. 15. This is the first recorded sexual assault on the premises since the event began running this year.