A former football coach is suspected of having taken advantage of his aura with young minors dreaming of becoming professional players in order to sexually abuse them.

Facts which would have occurred between 2003 and 2018. The dates of his trial before the Assize Court have not yet been communicated.

A former football coach is referred to the Assize Court for rape or sexual assault on minors between 2003 and 2018 in the Paris region: he took advantage of his aura with young people dreaming of becoming professional players to sexually abuse them.

Ahmed G., 48, "transformed these player-coach relationships into sexual relationships in order to satisfy (his) attraction" to adolescents of African descent, mostly under the age of 15, sums up one Parisian examining magistrate in his order of reference of February 4.

A "recurring modus operandi"

The facts came to light in October 2015, when the mother of a 13-year-old teenager discovered sexual messages from his trainer on her son's cellphone.

Indicted and placed under judicial supervision in February 2016 with a ban on seeing minors, Ahmed G. was imprisoned a month later: he continued contacts with young people and training. 

After a year of detention, he was released again with a ban on being around soccer fields and teenagers.

But he was reincarcerated in February 2019: he was training young people in a Ile-de-France club.

In the meantime, he raped another boy.

The investigation identified several victims, young black football enthusiasts, from a modest background, who "admired Ahmed G."

"He contests all rapes. On the other hand, he recognizes certain sexual assaults, but contests others", explains his lawyer, Me Peggy Salomé. 

Ahmed G. uses a "recurring modus operandi": he presents himself as a recruiter for training centers, offers young people gifts, advises them, accompanies them after training.

He gains the trust of the parents and becomes "a referent", describes the magistrate.

Once the close relationship is established, he commits his first touching - caresses and kisses - then blowjobs and penetrations if the teenager does not resist.

If the minor opposes it, he claims that his gestures are signs of affection or massages. 

Young people "in the grip"

The educator, "smart and manipulative" according to the accusation, asks his victims to erase the exchanges on their phones and to silence sexual relations.

"An omerta settles in each child", underlines a source close to the file. 

The investigation came up against the difficult identification of other victims and the silence of the adolescents.

"In our opinion, the victims are many more numerous. We have witnessed a liberation of speech, but it is still a fragile process", indicates Me Agathe Blanc, who defends four boys.

According to testimonies, Ahmed G., married and childless, “was very close to his players.” “He urged young people to come to his home after matches to play on the console or watch TV. late at night, "says a member of his sports entourage. 

"It is an extremely heavy file, it acted over a very long period: it is a real predator", observes the close source.

As soon as he was suspected of deviant behavior in a club, the man moved to another location, taking his players with him.

"It shows the hold he had over them," she sighs.

In 2012, Ahmed G. was reported to justice by a club, but the investigation was closed. 

Prevent these behaviors at all costs

"We cannot accept that predators use sport to access their young victims. If we do not prevent these behaviors, we lose the confidence of parents and licensees", specifies Me Benjamin Peyrelevade, lawyer for the French Federation of football, who was unaware of the suspicions and has since become a civil party.

The ex-trainer "followed an intensive program (in prison) for sex offenders," says Me Salomé.

"He is someone who can be readjusted, who regrets what he has done," she assures us. 

The trial dates have not been set.

In recent years, many cases of sexual assault in sport have come to light and Minister Roxana Maracineanu has made the fight against such abuse a priority.