French man Jacques Leveugle, aged 79, was accused of raping and sexually assaulting 89 teenagers. However, the case of “mass abuse” dates back to the 1960s and spans many countries.
The accused traveled to different countries and in each place he “settled down to tutor and teach, meet and have sexual relations with young people,” the BBC reported, citing Grenoble prosecutor Etienne Manteaux.
Police say Leveugle may have carried out attacks not only in France, but also in Germany, Switzerland, Morocco, Niger, Algeria, the Philippines, India, Colombia and the French overseas territory of New Caledonia.
He was arrested after his nephew found a USB drive that allegedly detailed his “sexual relations” with minors between the ages of 13 and 17.
Who is Jacques Leveugle?
For most of his life, Leveugle worked as an informal teacher or assistant at holiday camps.
Police say the attacks took place between 1967 and 2022.
According to prosecutors, he would settle in various countries to provide tutoring or teaching, and through this work he allegedly met young people.
How did Leuvegl’s act play out?
Leveugle was living in Morocco at the time of his arrest and had traveled to the Isère region near Grenoble to visit his brother. His nephew, who had grown suspicious, examined the USB drive in October 2023 while Leveugle was away.
It allegedly contained “15 volumes of very dense material” — photographs and written accounts of his “sexual relations” with minors, Manteaux said.
“Victims we spoke to told us he spent a lot of time helping them learn foreign languages, instilling in them a sense of culture… He has a complex personality,” the prosecutor said, the BBC reported.
Did the Frenchman kill his mother?
Prosecutors said during questioning that Leveugle also allegedly admitted to killing his mother in 1974, when she was terminally ill with cancer, and his 92-year-old aunt in 1992, both by suffocation. A separate judicial investigation has been launched into these alleged murders.
Under French law, alleged sexual assaults that occurred before 1993 do not have a statute of limitations and cannot be prosecuted. But prosecutors say establishing the full extent of the alleged crimes remains important, the BBC reported.