A former motocross driver, victim of sexual assault on the part of her trainer convicted in criminal proceedings, seized the administrative court to denounce the "guilty silence" of the French Motorcycling Federation (FFM), according to information revealed by Mediapart.
Coach Michel Mérel, founder of the “Off Road” motocross center in Loire-Atlantique, labeled pole of excellence until 2017 by the Ministry of Sports, was sentenced on appeal at the end of 2018 to eight years in prison by the Côtes-d'Armor Assize Court for rape of a minor student, Mélissa *, and sexual assault on another student, Marie *.
At first instance in 2015, the Loire-Atlantique Assize Court sentenced him to four years suspended prison sentence for sexual assault, but acquitted him of rape. “The hearings carried out in 2012 during the criminal investigation showed that the representatives of the FFM had been informed of testimonies of young girls claiming to be victims of sexual assault, but they had explained to the investigators that they had never done anything because no decision justice had not been done, "said Benjamin Ingelaere, lawyer for the former pilot, Marie, now 25, confirming information from Mediapart to AFP.
In January 2011, the Motorcycling Federation put the cover on the rape accusations against a powerful trainer (since sentenced to 8 years in prison).
2 months later, a new sportswoman was attacked by this coachhttps: //t.co/TapaMMJ3TT @Mediapart
"The Federation is not responsible for any fault"
An inaction "which resulted in the facts being repeated on my client," he added. The acts of sexual assault concerning Marie were committed between 2009 and 2011, when she was between 14 and 16 years old. A claim for compensation for damage was filed against the Federation on November 21, 2019 with the administrative court of Cergy-Pontoise for having "covered these acts" and for having taken "no measures to put an end to them".
The former driver claims that the fault of the FFM is recognized, and its responsibility engaged. Contacted by AFP, the FFM indicates that it wanted to "respect the presumption of innocence". “The Federation is not responsible for any fault. When Mélissa informed us of her wish to file a complaint in 2011, we encouraged her to do so, ”said Vincent Chaumet-Riffaud, deputy director general of the FFM.
“Mr. Mérel was neither an employee, nor a State executive placed at the disposal of the federation, nor a service provider, nor an elected official. He had a training center affiliated with the Federation but we had no police power over him, "he added, adding that" in 2015, neither the justice system nor the administration saw fit to prohibit him from continuing to teach during his first trial, but only from receiving young girls as part of his activity ”.
* The first names have been modified by Mediapart to preserve the anonymity of the persons in question.
- Sport
- motocross
- Auto Moto
- Sexual assault