Luxembourg DJ accused of sexual assault and extortion

Editor's note: This article was translated from Luxembourgish. Changes in style and language were made to accurately reflect the allegations detailed in the original piece.

Luxembourg's DJ Se7en has been accused of forcing a number of young women and girls to perform sexual acts against their will. The DJ, known for performing at parties and clubs around Luxembourg, published a post on his Facebook and Instagram pages in early May to deny the allegations.

In his post, the artist, who is in his early 30s, wrote:

"It is not and has never been my intention to get people, girls, and certainly not minors, drunk at my shows, and certainly not to take advantage of them."

However, the DJ added that a court case had been opened against him.

The allegations against the DJ have gained momentum on social media over the past few weeks and months, leading to his public defence and justification on his own pages. A number of former colleagues are believed to have distanced themselves from DJ Se7en on social media as a result of the allegations, saying they no longer wish to work with him.

One of the young women in question contacted RTL directly. The RTL team has also spoken to several other alleged victims, as well as witnesses and another young DJ named Joé Mersch, who has collected testimonies against DJ Se7en and published the anonymous accounts on his Instagram page.

In January, Mersch wrote on social media that he was aware of a local DJ known for sexually harassing and abusing girls, although he did not mention DJ Se7en by name. Following his post, he received messages from four or five women reporting their own experiences with DJ Se7en. In total, he says he has been contacted by around ten young women.

"It was clear from early on that the whole thing wasn't just an isolated case. Instead the incidents corresponded to a pattern, in that prior to the sexual harassment or rape, there were steps including alcohol or placing the victim under pressure on purpose."

Lured by the promise of an 'afterparty'

Joé Mersch says the women independently described similar situations in their messages to him, and each one was traced back to DJ Se7en. The performer is said to have abused his influence as a DJ, manipulating the women and girls into spending time with him by telling them they were lucky to have attracted the attention of a famous personality such as him. He is also alleged to have lured his victims with promises of meeting other celebrities.

"The testimonies all mentioned a so-called afterparty," Mersch explains. "These afterparties were supposed to have other DJs and celebrities, but in the end they were just at his house, leaving victims alone with him, where he could pressure them into drinking alcohol and engaging in sexual activity... there you can see a very clear pattern beginning to emerge."

At least two formal complaints

At least two complaints have been filed against DJ Se7en, according to RTL sources. One alleges sexual abuse, while the second says the victim was subjected to threats and blackmailed with images taken during sexual intercourse, against her wishes. RTL has also spoken to witnesses whose accounts correspond with the alleged victims' testimonies.

When Mersch published several accounts by alleged victims on Instagram in early May, three women reached out to the 'La voix des survivant(e)s' association ('The voice of survivors') within a week with accounts of their experiences with DJ Se7en. The association's Ana Pinto explains: "One of the young women who contacted us said her experience happened when she was underage. The other two women were over 18 years old [...] And of course they said he abused them in the context of attending concerts and parties afterwards."

The alleged victims spoke of how their attacker used his fame as a DJ. "The story is virtually always the same: contact took place at concerts, they met him afterwards because they were fans, and he took advantage of his notoriety to touch them. Naturally they felt guilty afterwards, because they went with him and he later forced them to do things they didn't want to do."

DJ Se7en has worked in Luxembourg at major festivals such as the Luxembourg Open Air and the Open Air Hosingen, and regularly plays in well-known clubs and discos. His freelance slot on popular broadcaster Eldoradio helped him to attain a level of fame among young members of the public. Eldoradio took the decision to suspend the collaboration at the start of May.

One of the women who contacted La voix des survivantes had already filed a complaint, Ana Pinto says. She and her colleague Liz Mathay encouraged the other two to follow suit, despite the fact that such cases rarely result in convictions.

Pinto regrets that this often occurs due to a lack of evidence: "But in the same breath I would say, if something like this happens again a year later, if another victim comes forward with exactly the same story, as is the case with DJ Se7en, the situation looks completely different. A judge would then say yes, there is a case, as it is always the same procedure so there must be something behind it. And then I think there would be a reaction."

It borders on absurdity, says Mathay: "If, unfortunately, there are many victims, and many of them dare to speak up, then there is a chance of that being the case. But it shouldn't be the case that only repeat offenders are punished for their actions."

Previous complaint filed ten years ago

Very similar accusations are said to have surfaced against DJ Se7en around a decade ago. In November 2013, the Diekirch prosecutor's office dismissed a case against the DJ for sexual assault. The DJ published this information on his own Facebook account to prove he had nothing to hide, but has since deleted the document. At the time, there was insufficient evidence to go to trial; however, a dismissal, or non-lieu, can be brought up again if new information comes to light, unlike acquittals.

However, the performer has neither been charged or convicted to date, so the presumption of innocence must apply. RTL reached out to the DJ for comment, to give him the opportunity to respond to the allegations, but his lawyer wrote that this would not be possible so as not to infringe on confidentiality. While this is not binding for his client, the lawyer thereby confirmed that a case has been opened against the DJ.

Improving the law in Luxembourg

In order to file a complaint, the victim must first be aware that they have been subjected to a crime and that it is not their fault.

Last year, the laws on rape and sexual assault in Luxembourg were subjected to improvements, explicitly defining the concept of consent. Since then, any sexual act performed without consent is considered an "atteinte à l'integrity sexuelle", or a violation of a person's sexual integrity. Such an act is punishable if the victim is not in any condition to give their consent. The new law declares that even if the victim does not defend themselves, it may still not be considered as giving their consent. Consent can also be withdrawn during the act.

The definition of rape was also reworked according to Luxembourgish law, meaning that any penetration without consent, whether vaginal, anal, or oral, using the genitals, a finger or an object, is considered to be rape, even if the victim was unwilling or no longer capable of giving their consent.

Mathay summarises it as follows: "A woman has the right to get so intoxicated that she no longer knows which way is up, but even so, no one has the right to abuse, touch or exploit another person."