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CRIME

French driver ‘drugged and sexually assaulted’ women on ride-share trips

A Frenchman is on trial accused of eight sexual assaults on young women he drugged with chocolate mixed with tranquilisers after they signed up to travel with him in his car via ride-sharing app Bla Bla Car.

French driver 'drugged and sexually assaulted' women on ride-share trips
Photo: AFP

The 52-year-old was finally arrested in November 2014 when one of his alleged victims ended up in hospital after reacting badly to the cocktail of tranquilisers and antidepressants.

His alleged routine was to offer his passengers chocolate when they got into the car which he frequently drove from his home in Nantes to the Calais area to visit relations, France Bleu reported.

When the young women passed out, he allegedly sexaully assaulted them. When they woke up they didn’t know what had happened and the only unusual thing they noticed was that the trip took longer than it should have.

The man ferried around 50 passengers over a nine-month period leading up to his arrest. He has admitted to sexual assault on eight women aged between 20 and 30. Police suspect there may be other victims.

He went on trial on Monday in Nantes accused of administering toxic substances and sexual assault. He faces up to seven years in jail if convicted.

The accused has said in his defence that he suffered from loneliness and had no social life, according to France Bleu.

 

CRIME

French cinema boss on trial for sexual assault

The head of France's top cinema institution Dominique Boutonnat denied sexually assaulting his godson as he went on trial Friday in a case that has led to calls for him to step down.

French cinema boss on trial for sexual assault

The trial comes as French cinema reels from a renewed #MeToo reckoning that has seen several big names, including acting legend Gerard Depardieu, accused of sexual abuse.

READ ALSO: French actor Gérard Depardieu to be tried for sexual assault in October

Activists have denounced Boutonnat’s continued leadership of the National Centre of Cinema (CNC), whose role includes overseeing measures to curb sexual violence in the industry.

His godson accuses him of trying to masturbate him during a holiday in Greece in 2020 when he was 19.

“I looked at him to find my godfather and that’s when I saw someone completely different… It was someone using me to masturbate,” the godson, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court.

Boutonnat responded in court that it was his godson who had initiated the situation and kissed him.

“I feel bad about leaving an ambiguous situation, but to say there was a sexual assault is false,” he told the court.

He was placed under investigation in February 2021 but still reappointed by the government as head of the CNC in July 2022.

Training to prevent abuse has in recent months become obligatory for films seeking public funding via the CNC.

The CNC told AFP that the case against Boutonnat came from “the private sphere” and had no relation to its activities.

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