a former vice-president of the French federation tried in February for rape

The former vice-president of the French Tennis Federation (FFT), Jean-Pierre Dartevelle, will be tried from February 11 to 13 before the Doubs criminal court for rape of a player who denounced a “control relationship”.

Jean-Pierre Dartevelle, 74, is being prosecuted for rapes committed between September 20, 2016 and March 31, 2018, when the victim was between 17 and 19 years old. The young woman, a minor at the time of certain events, can request if she wishes that the trial be held behind closed doors. The accused faces 15 years of criminal imprisonment.

The former vice-president of the FFT and former president of the Franche-Comté Tennis League did not contest sexual relations during the investigation, but he maintained that it was a “totally consensual relationship”a judicial source told AFP.

“He does not understand what he is accused of”

“He does not understand what he is accused of. For him, it was a romantic relationship that lasted two years.declared his lawyer, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard, in March 2023 when announcing his referral to the criminal court. “For me, given the case, this referral to a trial hearing is more about morality than law”she added.

A talented player who aimed for a professional career, before being overtaken by health problems, the young woman had denounced acts of rape in 2018, describing a relationship “constraint”while she was the victim of “the influence” of this man very close to his parents in the tennis world, according to the same source.

The FFT filed a civil suit

Placed under judicial supervision, Mr. Dartevelle initially appealed his indictment order before the Doubs criminal court, before withdrawing. In February 2017, the former president of the Franche-Comté Tennis League was narrowly beaten by Bernard Giudicelli for the presidency of the FFT.

This former high-level footballer, who played a dozen matches in the first division with Sochaux at the end of the 1970s, was also a dentist in Montbéliard and LR regional councilor for Burgundy-Franche-Comté during the previous mandate. The French Tennis Federation became a civil party to the trial, alongside the player and her family.