A 46 year old man appeared in court on Monday to answer charges of sexual assault against minors.
The former management staff member at the Bonnevoie Lycée Technique was accused of having sex with minors aged between 15 and 17 years old at the time of the acts. The alleged crimes took place between October 2011 and October 2012, and October 2014 to September 2016.
The judicial police investigator said the defendant had approached the minors first and asked them for sex in return for money, as well as exchanging pornographic images and texts. He is said to have carried these actions out with no fewer than thirteen teenagers.
The investigation began in March 2016, when one victim's parents approached police after discovering messages concerning prostitution on their son's mobile phone. The victim did not know the defendant was a teacher, but police were able to track the man down from his registration plate. During a search of the defendant's home, he claimed he only had sex with adults, but this statement was quickly disproved.
The judicial police investigator went on to state that it was often difficult to read the pornographic messages exchanged between the defendant and his victims, saying what the man had wanted to do to a 16 year old had set the tone for the whole investigation. The policeman said he was particularly alarmed at the nature of the messages given the defendant's former profession as a high school teacher.
When police sought the defendant out in September 2016, he said he did not believe he had assaulted any minors, instead claiming they had asked him for money.
The case took a tragic turn earlier this year when one of the young men who had instigated the investigation committed suicide in June, throwing himself in front of a train. The young man had opened a case of assault against the former teacher in February, but could not cope with the situation. The policeman indicated the defendant was not entirely blameless in the case of the victim's suicide. The family's lawyer has lodged a claim of compensation for €320,000 against the defendant.
The trial, which is set to have four sittings, will continue on Tuesday afternoon.
