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Renowned skipper, Kevin Escoffier is suspected of sexual assault
The French Sailing Federation has taken legal action over Kevin Escoffier, one of the heroes of the last Vendée Globe, suspected of “sexual assault” on a young member of his team in the United States.
PostedJune 14, 2023, 1:33 p.m.
Kevin Escoffier had mentioned “an alleged incident” with a member of his team when leaving the PRB-Holcim team on June 3. It was actually a sexual assault.
AFP
First #MeToo affair in the offshore racing world. The French Sailing Federation (FFVoile) has taken legal action against Kevin Escoffier, one of the heroes of the last Vendée Globe, suspected of “sexual assault” on a young member of his team in the United States. “Article 40 has been triggered,” the FFVoile told AFP on Tuesday. Escoffier had announced that he was leaving the PRB-Holcim team on June 3 after discussing “an alleged incident” with a member of his team, which occurred in Newport in May, during a stopover in The Ocean Race. Asked by AFP, neither Escoffier nor his lawyer reacted immediately.
According to a source familiar with the matter, “the facts are related to a sexual assault”. The Federation had first seized the sexual violence unit of the Ministry of Sports, in charge of an administrative investigation, and decided on Friday to make a report to the public prosecutor of Paris by using article 40 which allows an authority to do so when it has knowledge of an offense or a crime.
“I made a number of phone calls which led me to believe that what was presented as an alleged incident was inappropriate behavior he allegedly exhibited towards a woman at a party,” he said. last week to AFP the president of the FFVoile, Jean-Luc Denéchau.
“Repeated skids”
At this stage, no complaints have been filed. “We have no new elements to bring,” it was said on the side of the Federation on Tuesday. A disciplinary procedure was also launched internally.
Asked by AFP on Tuesday, Kevin Escoffier did not respond. In its Wednesday edition, the Chained Duck reported the testimony of several people describing “repeated slippages” of the Breton navigator towards women. “All of our conversations, even the most banal, ended up deviating on remarks and provocations of a sexual nature with the sending of pornographic photos and videos”, explains one of them to the weekly, qualifying these sendings not solicited from “repetitive (And) unhealthy”. “He asked me if his sex was beautiful, big, to my taste,” said a former acquaintance of the navigator. A professional navigator also told the Chained Duck that Escoffier would have touched his chest without his consent.
An experienced sailor
Testimonies collected last week by AFP also report “sometimes inappropriate behavior” on the part of the Breton. “I was told not to be alone with him because of his sometimes inappropriate behavior towards women”, explained a young offshore racing actress.
Escoffier, 43, won The Ocean Race in 2017-2018 and also counts the Transat Jacques-Vabre 2005 as well as the Jules-Verne Trophy in 2012, on Loïck Peyron’s Maxi Banque Populaire V.
Before leaving the PRB-Holcim team, he wanted to take on the next Everest of the seas, the Vendée Globe 2024. He had been one of the heroes of the last edition. Shipwrecked in the storm off the Cape of Good Hope, he had jumped into his life raft before being rescued in extremis by his competitor Jean Le Cam.
In an interview with West France And The Team last week, Escoffier said “to be at the disposal of sports institutions”.
Asked by AFP, PRB-Holcim, his former team on The Ocean Race, did not wish to react on Tuesday. After being the leader for a long time, the Swiss team is in 2nd place in the general classification of the crewed round the world race with stopovers, before the start of the 7th and last stage on Thursday, towards Genoa (Italy).
(AFP)Show comments
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