Rapist escapes from courtroom

FRENCH police are searching for a convicted rapist who managed to slip out of court just before he was handed a 10-year jail sentence, a police official said Sunday.

The chief suspect among four men accused of drugging and raping a student in 2005, Bruce Allaire left the courtroom, telling his lawyer he felt unwell, during a recess in the trial which ran into the early hours of Saturday.

Police have issued a nationwide warrant for the arrest of the 31-year-old, whose co-accused received jail sentences of seven to eight years. All four were on bail at the time of the trial.

The incident in the southern city of Montpellier comes days after an embarrassing legal mix-up that saw a rape and kidnap suspect wrongly set free from pre-trial detention on Thursday.

Photo: Jonas Roux