No accused. No police escort. Just a dull noise. That of absence which, for the complainant, sounds like a slap in the face. This Wednesday, December 18, Antoine Devulder, doctor in Scaër, did not appear before the Finistère Assize Court, in Quimper. The facts with which he is accused, however, are serious. For two years, between 2015 and 2016, his ex-wife, Anne
accuses him of having raped and assaulted her on several occasions. Despite the absence of the accused, the latter, exhausted after eight years of proceedings, requested that the trial take place. A request granted by the president of the Assize Court, Aurore Carpentier, according to the criminal default procedure.
A few meters from the empty box, Anne courageously walked towards the bar. To the judges, she told about these two years of relations with Antoine Devulder. Two traumatic years, despite an idyllic start to the relationship. “We met in Lille in April 2014,” says Anne, a trained nurse. He was the perfect man. He cooked me breakfast every morning, bought me flowers…” Quickly, Antoine suggested that Anne move in with him in Brittany, in the Concarneau region (29), where his parents live. She refuses, scalded by several attacks of jealousy on the part of her partner. But after being the victim of a homejacking, she finally decides to follow him. “He explained to me that it was too dangerous for a liberal nurse to stay here, that something might happen to me. He used my trauma against me. »
Several sexual acts per day demanded from the victim
At the beginning of 2015, the couple moved to Scaër, where Antoine Devulder set up his practice. Although she is not initially in favor of it, Anne agrees to work for him. As a nurse officially. But in fact, the latter has the missions of a medical secretary. This is where the first violence occurs. The context is the same each time: the doctor asks his partner for sexual relations. She refuses. He hits her. And rape her. “He demanded three to four sexual acts a day,” describes Anne, firmly anchored to the bar so as not to flinch. “He often told me: ‘In ten minutes, you’ll have to cook.’ I complied: ten minutes of ordeal was better than an hour of violence. »
In October 2015, the couple got married. Remembering the early romance, Anne tells herself that her husband will change and improve. But the situation is getting worse. And episodes of violence are increasing. During their honeymoon, first, where Antoine Devulder, drunk, is very insistent and violent when he refuses sexual intercourse. Then on the evening of December 31, 2015: “The evening went very well,” says Anne, her voice clear despite the emotion. We were at friends’ houses, we were dancing. At midnight he asked me to come up to the bedroom to have sex. When I refused, he started hitting me. A friend intervened and told her to stop. After going up to the room, he finally came down, naked, to tell us that there was no way he was starting a new year without sex.”
Another evening, after another argument linked to their sexuality, Antoine Devulder kicked his wife out of their home. She is only dressed in underwear. “It happened regularly,” explains Anne. Once, I found refuge with a friend for three days. Then we moved to Névez and I found myself totally isolated. I had to wait outside until he calmed down. »
No more financial income or privacy
Over the months, the influence does its work and Anne finds herself trapped. Her husband gradually cuts her off from everything: she has no financial resources, the latter refusing to pay her and not giving her access to bank cards. No privacy either, the doctor forbidding his wife to close the toilet door when she goes there in case she uses her phone to text someone. A particularly violent episode, which occurred on December 15, 2016, finally pushed her to file a complaint: “As much as I tried to struggle, he tore off my clothes and raped me,” describes Anne. After that, I waited until he fell asleep to get my phone. The next day, I refused to go to work. He told me that when he came back, I had better spread my legs otherwise he would kill me and attack my daughter. » For Anne, this is the trigger: “For him to attack me, that’s one thing. But for him to hurt my children, I couldn’t bear it.”
Two complaints filed by two other companions
The investigation will reveal that Antoine Devulder had already committed similar acts. His first wife, to whom he was married from 1992 to 2010, also describes an insatiable sexual appetite. The doctor had agreed with her a number of obligatory sexual relations each week. The latter ended up filing a complaint against him for sexual harassment. His latest companion has also filed a complaint for rape and habitual violence. Facts for which the doctor was definitively condemned by the Rennes Court of Appeal, in November 2024.
18 years of imprisonment required
“I lost everything,” summarizes Anne. Today, I can no longer practice my job as a nurse because the simple act of taking a patient’s wrist to take their blood pressure scares me. I can’t drive anymore. And then, since he didn’t show up to court, I’m afraid he’ll find me and hurt me. » At these words, Anne cannot repress a sob. “He destroyed the woman in me. »
Antoine Devulder faces 20 years of criminal imprisonment. The attorney general requested, this Wednesday afternoon, 18 years of imprisonment.
