Overview
- The Avignon criminal court, which sentenced the men Thursday, gave the 19- and 20-year-old brothers four years each with two years on probation and gave the filmer 18 months with 12 months suspended.
- Judges said the violence was aggravated under French law by homophobic motive, group involvement, and use of a weapon.
- Investigators tied the group to five victims, including two minors, lured through fake profiles on dating sites and the Grindr app, then beaten, humiliated, and robbed from 2022 to 2026.
- The trial covered two January assaults in Vedène and Avignon, and the defendants acknowledged setting similar traps since 2022.
- Defense lawyers said the young men copied masculinist content from social networks and ruled out an appeal, while prosecutors rejected their claim of hunting pedophiles as a pretext that fueled hate crimes.