In the town of Montberon, north of Toulouse, the 62-year-old man had no less than 14 entries on his criminal record, for a medley of offenses including aggravated procuring, indecent exposure and indecent assault.

The man was diagnosed as being paraplegic in 1994, but authorities recently discovered that this handicap was in fact a stunt used to assault women, daily La Dépèche reports.

He was exposed in December last year, when a witness saw him standing up during an attack on a 58-year-old woman.

At the Montberon clinic, the man insulted a partially-handicapped woman, slapped her on the buttocks and slipped his hand inside her underwear.  

A witness however recognised the man and reported him to the police.

In July, the case against the fake cripple was however dismissed when he appeared in court in his wheelchair. A neighbour then reported that he often went for walks with the suspect and had never seen him use a wheelchair.

The man was condemned to a 12-month suspended prison sentence, with compulsory psychological treatment for 2 years.