six months suspended prison sentence for the technical director of the France gymnastics center in Marseille – Liberation

2023-05-04 16:35:48

Vincent Pateau was given a six-month suspended prison sentence on Thursday for moral harassment against underage sportswomen he had trained in this high-level structure. The prosecution had requested fifteen months in prison suspended.

High-level requirements or “mistreatment”? The Marseille Criminal Court has ruled: on Thursday, it sentenced the technical director of the France gymnastics center in Marseille, Vincent Pateau, to a six-month suspended prison sentence for moral harassment against underage sportswomen he had trained in this high-level structure.

Bullying, remarks about weight, teasing, rude or hurtful remarks: in their complaints, the five young sportswomen described what they were experiencing as a “atmosphere of terror” at the France pole in Marseille, a high-level structure where young gymnasts often entered with the dream of competing in the Olympic Games.

toxic culture

Relaxed for the facts alleged against him by two of the five complainants, Vincent Pateau was also sentenced to a fine of 10,000 euros by the Marseille criminal court. At the hearing, at the end of March, the prosecution had requested a suspended sentence of fifteen months in prison.

A former pole coach, Pierre Ettel, will also be tried for moral harassment, on November 7, after the complaint of one of the five gymnasts against Vincent Pateau.

For the past few years, world gymnastics has been shaken by cases, the most resounding of which broke out around Larry Nassar, the ex-doctor of the American team, convicted in 2018 of having sexually assaulted at least 265 gymnasts. Since this unprecedented affair, gymnasts around the world have spoken out to denounce abusive practices, exposing a toxic culture within their discipline.