Abbé Pierre targeted by nine new damning testimonies of sexual violence, according to a report

SEXUAL VIOLENCE – The accusations of sexual violence against Abbé Pierre have not finished being revealed. After the tsunami caused by the revelations of July and September, new testimonies were collected against the man of the Church, according to the report from the Égaé firm, mandated by Emmaüs to investigate, published this Monday, January 13. The show Special Envoy dedicates his show to him, broadcast Thursday January 16 on France 2.

Abbé Pierre is the target of nine new accusations of sexual violence, including rape of a minor and “incestuous abuse”according to this report. “The events described took place from the 1960s to the 2000s, most of the time in France and sometimes abroad”we can read in this report which brings to 33 the number of testimonies targeting the priest who died in 2007.

A member of Abbé Pierre's family told Égaé that she had suffered from him “sexual contact on her breasts and mouth in the late 90s”. Another testimony mentions a “penetrative sexual act on a minor boy”.

The people who testify range from “employee of a hotel in which she stayed” Abbot Pierre, “caregivers working in hospitals” where he was hospitalized, passing by a family member, a flight attendant or even a volunteer for a youth camp or a humanitarian mission.

Other testimonies against Abbé Pierre

This is the third report from the firm commissioned by Emmaüs International, Emmaüs France and the Abbé Pierre Foundation to shed light on the actions of Abbé Pierre, whose real name is Henri Grouès.

In July 2023, the first salvo of revelations based on seven testimonies caused a shock wave as Abbé Pierre, tireless defender of the poorly housed and the most deprived, has long been an icon.

In September, a second report containing seventeen new testimonies led the Abbé Pierre Foundation to announce its decision to change its name and Emmaüs to permanently close the place of memory dedicated to the priest located in Esteville (Seine-Maritime).

The latest testimonies “absolutely do not allow us to draw up an exhaustive inventory of Abbé Pierre’s behavior”insists the Égaé cabinet in its report, noting “other testimonies, sometimes anonymous or incomplete”. The collection of testimonies set up by Egaé continues until January 31 by email: [email protected] and by telephone: 01 89 96 01 53. The system will then give way to a structure “who will process the testimonies in the future”the organization said in its report.

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