A 40-year-old man was arrested in Amiens on Tuesday morning after a series of violent assaults against women, during which he reportedly said to one of his victims, “I’ve wanted to fuck a white woman for a long time.”
The suspect, who has a history of rape and sexual assault convictions, is now under investigation for attempted rape with a weapon, attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault, and aggravated violence.
As reported by France Bleu, the attacks took place between 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Tuesday in the Saint-Honoré district of the French city. According to Amiens deputy prosecutor Véronique Parent, the man first confronted a woman around 8:30 a.m., pressing a kitchen knife into her back and threatening her by saying, “Follow me or I’ll kill you.” He then led her to a more secluded area where he made the sexually charged comment about White women. The assault was interrupted when a witness intervened, prompting the man to flee.
Minutes later, he targeted another woman, stabbing her between four and six times, according to investigators, before escaping again. That victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries and remains hospitalized.
Police arrested the suspect shortly after the second assault, finding him heavily intoxicated and fleeing on a scooter.
During the investigation, authorities identified two additional victims attacked earlier that morning. In one case, the man threatened a woman with a knife and ordered her to follow him, but she managed to escape. In another, he groped a woman as she was placing her child into a car seat.
Prosecutors revealed that the suspect has an extensive criminal record, including prior convictions for drug trafficking in 2005 and 2007, followed by three separate convictions for rape and sexual assault in Fort-de-France, Caen, and Evry.
After his most recent conviction in 2020, he had been under court supervision in Amiens, living in a treatment facility for alcoholism while reportedly seeking employment.
As of Wednesday evening, the man remained in custody, with the Amiens prosecutor’s office confirming that an initial court appearance is scheduled for Friday.