Jean-Marc Morandini will appear on October 24 before the Paris Criminal Court for corruption of minors, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday, confirming information from BFMTV.
Jean-Marc Morandini, now 56, was indicted in 2016 after the complaint of two young men, aged 15 and 16 at the time of the facts they denounce, according to BFMTV.
In the first complaint, a young man claimed that the host had made sexual proposals to him in text exchanges between February and March 2013. The second complainant, who has since withdrawn, had for his part said that he had been contacted in July 2009 by Jean-Marc Morandini’s production company, via a casting site, for a film remake project. He explained that he was invited, alone, to the home of the host where the latter would have invited him to undress and to reproduce a scene of masturbation, according to information from the Parisian.
“During this hearing, Mr. Morandini will be able to defend himself and assert his rights,” reacted to AFP his lawyer, Me Corinne Dreyfus-Schmidt, specifying that he disputed the facts.
Also on trial for “sexual harassment”
The radio and television host had challenged his dismissal for trial before the investigating chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal. The aggravating circumstances of incitement by a means of telecommunication and incitement to sexual proposal on a minor had been invalidated but his dismissal validated. Jean-Marc Morandini then seized the Court of Cassation, which rejected his appeal at the end of February.
In another case, he is also on trial for “sexual harassment” against an actor and his production company “Ne Zappez pas! Production”, of which he is the legal representative, will be judged for “concealed work” with regard to five plaintiffs. The trial date has not yet been set.
Jean-Marc Morandini announced in June that he was leaving the antenna of NRJ 12 where he hosted several programs including “Crimes”, “Heritages” and “You are live”. He nevertheless continued his morning show “Morandinilive” on CNews, a news channel controlled by Vincent Bolloré.