Nicolas Bazzucchi, the mayor of La Penne-sur-Huveaune, near Marseille, was indicted this Thursday for acts of rape and violence against several ex-spouses. The 29-year-old elected official was placed in pre-trial detention, we learned from the Marseille prosecutor’s office.
The investigation into counts of spousal violence was opened last August, after the Marseille prosecutor’s office received complaints from two former partners of the accused. According to the prosecution, the testimonies of the two complainants and another former partner were collected, giving rise to various investigations leading to the placement in police custody of Nicolas Bazzucchi and the search of his home as well as the mary on Monday.
“Nicolas Bazzucchi denied the facts of rape”
According to the Marseille prosecutor’s office, “during the preliminary investigation as well as before the investigating magistrate, Nicolas Bazzucchi denied the facts of aggravated rape and violence, however admitting certain behaviors likely to have criminal implications.” In the columns of The ProvenceJérôme Gay, the councilor’s lawyer, affirms that “the violence was mutual” and evokes breakups that were “badly experienced”.
However, the elected official was indicted on charges of “habitual violence against a spouse or ex-spouse leading to total incapacity for work for more than 8 days” and “rape against a spouse or ex-spouse” for two complainants. He was also indicted for “violence against a spouse or ex-spouse not resulting in total incapacity for work”, for a third.
The instruction will also relate to “the recording of images of a sexual nature of a person in a private place without their consent committed by the spouse or ex-spouse”. The prosecution specifies that the acts referred to were committed between “January 1, 2023 and July 21, 2024”.
Our file on domestic violence
In accordance with the prosecutor’s orders, the accused was placed in pre-trial detention. Nicolas Bazzucchi’s lawyer announced that he would appeal this decision.
