> I’m not defending him, I’m just being realistic here

The term is over-used, but this is actual victim blaming. Nobody is surprised when a serial killer serial kills. But if a bystanders starts then arguing that we shouldn't be surprised at that, and that the victims shouldn't have gone into a neighbourhood with a serial killer, they're just being realistic...they're defending the serial killer. That's what their lawyer would be expected to argue. (It's literally what Mosseri and his supporters are saying.)