The Paris Court of Appeal refused Thursday to drop the proceedings against Jean-Luc Lahaye, initiated following complaints from two young women accusing the singer of rape and sexual assault when they were minors.
Jean-Luc Lahaye remains indicted. The Paris Court of Appeal refused this Thursday to drop the prosecution for “rape and sexual assault of minors over 15 years old”, which has weighed on him since 2021, AFP learned this Thursday from a judicial source.
The singer, now 71 years old, was indicted on November 5, 2021. Two young women, born in 1998 and 2000, accuse him of sexual violence when they were minors. The alleged facts, which he disputes, allegedly began in 2013.
The lawyers contest
The defense of Jean-Luc Lahaye, who has been banned from performing on stage since his indictment, had seized the investigating chamber of the court of appeal after the refusal of the investigating judge to place him under the status more favorable assisted witness, for the facts denounced by one of the two complainants.
This request was based in particular on inconsistencies noted in his accusations, two sources close to the case told AFP during the hearing on June 27. But “the investigating chamber confirmed the refusal of placement under the status of assisted witness taken by the investigating judge,” the judicial source told the agency.
“We expect the investigating judge to stand at an equal distance between the complainant and the accused,” the singer’s two lawyers, Sophie Obadia and Bertrand Burman, reacted to AFP.
One of the complainants “relieved”
“This complainant has not communicated all of the information requested from her for months and months. The numerous testimonies of women in favor of Jean-Luc Lahaye are never taken into account,” they regretted, adding that “this popular singer (should) be able to practice his profession.”
“My client is relieved by this decision and hopes that the investigation will soon be completed,” Nathalie Bucquet, the young woman’s lawyer, told AFP.
For the record, this is not the first time that Jean-Luc Lahaye finds himself facing justice. He has already been sentenced several times in child crime cases, including a fine of 10,000 euros for sexual assault on a 15-year-old minor in 2007, and a one-year suspended prison sentence for corruption of a 15-year-old minor in 2015.
Related News :