2023-06-13 21:38:50
The Federation, the Ministry of Sports, and now justice: the noose is tightening around Kévin Escoffier. There French Sailing Federation (FFVoile) indeed seized the public prosecutor of Paris on Friday about the skipper of Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine) for events that occurred in May with a young woman in the United States during a stopover of The Ocean Race , AFP learned on Wednesday from the FFVoile.
Escoffier, 43, has announced that he is leaving the helm of his PRB-Holcim sailboat after discussing “an incident” with a member of his team, which occurred in Newport on May 15. According to a source familiar with the matter, “the facts are related to a sexual assault”.
The sailor was first accused of “inappropriate behavior” by the president of the FFVoile. Then he posted, in early June, a message announcing his withdrawal. The federation initially seized the sexual violence unit of the Ministry of Sports, in charge of an administrative investigation, and then decided to take legal action directly by bringing into play article 40 which allows an authority to do so when she has knowledge of an offense or a crime.
“I made a number of phone calls which led me to believe that what was being presented as an alleged incident was inappropriate behavior he allegedly exhibited towards a woman at a party,” the statement said. last week to AFP the president of the FFVoile Jean-Luc Denéchau. At this stage, no complaint has been filed. “We have no new elements to bring,” it was said on the side of the Federation on Tuesday.
A disciplinary procedure was also launched internally. Asked by AFP on Tuesday, Kevin Escoffier did not respond. In its Wednesday edition, Le Canard Enchaîné reported the testimony of several people describing “repeated slippages” by the Breton navigator towards women. “All of our conversations, even the most banal, ended up deviating on remarks and provocations of a sexual nature with the sending of pornographic photos and videos”, explains one of them to the weekly, qualifying these sendings not – solicited from “repetitive (and) unhealthy”. “He asked me if his sex was beautiful, big, to my taste,” said a former acquaintance of the navigator. A professional sailor also told Le Canard that Escoffier would have touched her chest without her consent. Testimonies collected last week by AFP also report “sometimes inappropriate behavior” on the part of the Breton. “I was told not to be alone with him because of his sometimes inappropriate behavior towards women,” explained a young offshore racing actress.
PRB-Holcim, with Escoffier as skipper, was leader of the general classification of the around the world race The Ocean Race, since the start in January, before yielding the first place during the 5th leg to the American crew 11th Hour. Kévin Escoffier won The Ocean Race in 2017-2018 and also has the Transat Jacques Vabre 2005 to his name. At the end of 2020, his rescue at seaoff the Cape of Good Hope, by Jean Le Cam, while they were taking part in the Vendée Globe, had kept France spellbound.
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