Lille (AFP)

A preliminary investigation was opened Thursday for acts of alleged sexual assault against three victims against a former executive of the French Judo Federation, the Lille prosecutor's office told AFP.

The investigation, entrusted to the PJ of Lille, follows a report from the Federation and concerns a "coach aged about sixty", said the prosecution.

From a source close to the file, it is the former president of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais League.

These reports from the president and the national technical director of the Federation date back to November 10 and Wednesday, said the prosecution.

This former executive of the French Judo Federation between 2012 and 2016, coach in a club in northern France, was recently suspended for suspicion of sexual assault.

Asked by AFP, he had confirmed his suspension, blaming the accusations against him "of disagreements between people in a club".

He was notably the trainer of a forty-something professor indicted in the context of a judicial investigation opened before the summer.

This indictment, dating back to September 29, relates to alleged facts of "rape committed on a minor by a person having authority over the victim", said the prosecution.

"Without precedent" and "playing in several judo clubs", this man has since been "placed under judicial control" while "several victims have been identified", added the prosecution.

"For the moment, it has not been established between these two cases", according to the prosecution.

One of the students of the forties had testified in the Parisian almost two weeks ago, the starting point of a series of revelations in French judo.

© 2020 AFP