The former owner of a bar in Angers (Maine-et-Loire) is accused of raping or sexually assaulting eight colleagues or customers of his establishment. Indicted and placed in pre-trial detention for a year, the man made a new request for release which was studied by the justice on Wednesday, reports Ouest-France.
A decision on May 17
Originally, the man was prosecuted for a single rape before four other complainants came forward to denounce three other rapes and a sexual assault that allegedly occurred between 2020 and 2022. Three additional people then filed complaints in turn during the investigation.
"You are accused of taking advantage of the state of alcoholization of young women you know," the president of the investigating chamber told him. But the man denies the facts and calls for a release to prepare his defense. For his part, the public prosecutor had estimated, in April, that it was a "aggressor or a serial rapist" and recalled that "the risk of renewal is qualified as high by the expert".
The court will issue its decision on May 17.
- Angers
- Maine-et-Loire
- Pays de la Loire
- Justice
- Rape
- Sexual assault