We will start by meeting Maïté Meeus, the creator of #Balancetonbar. She will confirm usthat there are names of predators that are mentioned several times in different testimonies concerning the Wood or other night bars“. But she will also explain to us that she never allowed herself to give them in order to avoid any proceedings for defamation.
With this information, we are trying to reach one or the other person who claims to have been the victim of this type of attack, when the Wood was still open. We will first meet Valentine, a 23-year-old student. She will talk with us about what she experienced in this nightclub a few years ago.
“I was 17 at the time, I go out very often in this club. I am often in contact with Carl De Moncharline. He has the possibility of bringing us in for free. I have his mobile phone number, I just have to send him an SMS specifying the number of people accompanying me.“
“That evening, he is behind the bar in his usual place. I dance a little then at one point he offers me a beer that doesn’t come directly from the bar. From that moment everything becomes blurry. I don’t remember how the sequel went, but I find myself upstairs at the Wood. He starts kissing me, touching my upper body. I am mentally conscious, but physically, I no longer control anything. I am paralyzed. I am limp and frozen. I am totally aware of what is happening, I don’t agree, I want it to stop but I am unable to say a word or do a physical action to make it stop.“.
“I remember a sentence he said to me that made me very uncomfortable. He knows I have a boyfriend and he compares himself to him. He claims that he is a better kisser than him. I find that this is really not the case, this old man who wants to show that he is still young disgusts me. It’s a crazy thing. He touches my chest too, but it didn’t go as far as my panties because my mobile phone doesn’t stop vibrating and he can feel it. My friends are looking for me. They found me and Carl missing. The vibrations end up bothering him since my phone is also in contact with his leg. He ends up telling me to leave“.
Arriving downstairs, Valentine sees her friends arguing with the sorter. They try to join her upstairs. “When Carl comes downstairs, they yell at him. He looks innocent and implies that I’m okay with what just happened. He talks about me like a girlfriend It’s okay to do that to a girlfriend.”
Valentine ends up leaving the box. She will be sick for a good part of the night, always having the impression that her body and her head are two unconnected parts. Feelings very different from alcohol, which she hasn’t had time to consume in large quantities anyway.
“I am not complaining at the time. I probably want to erase that from my memory. It wasn’t until years later, when a friend of mine was raped, that I would understand the seriousness of what happened to me too. That’s when I filed a complaint against Carl.“And it is true that these facts concerning a minor are far from trivial. According to a criminal lawyer whom we consulted, if these facts are confirmed, these are acts which could be qualified as intoxication and indecent assault, which can lead to several years in prison.