Viols et agressions sexuelles sur 89 mineurs, meurtres de sa mère et de sa tante : tout ce que l’on sait sur le parcours criminel de Jacques Leveugle
The number of victims was determined thanks to documents gathered on a USB key by the septuagenarian in which he refers to "sexual relations" with minors aged 13 to 17.
A 79-year-old man, Jacques Leveugle, was arrested in Isère in February 2024, then charged and imprisoned for aggravated rape and sexual assault committed against 89 minors between 1967 and 2022, the Grenoble public prosecutor announced on Tuesday. Having lived in Morocco for several years, the suspect was residing with his brother in Vizille at the time of his arrest.
The number of victims was established based on "memories" recorded on a USB drive by the 70-year-old man, who described "sexual relations" with minors aged 13 to 17, prosecutor Étienne Manteaux explained at a press conference. These were primarily acts of masturbation and fellatio, according to the magistrate.
Acts committed around the world
The suspect traveled the world, working with young people in a multitude of community and extracurricular programs. Jacques Leveugle, for example, was a French teacher, a caving instructor, and an educator in youth camps and with juvenile delinquents. The alleged offenses took place in Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Morocco, Niger, Algeria, the Philippines, India, Colombia, and New Caledonia, the prosecutor explained. The victims are minors from disadvantaged backgrounds. "This isn't 'classic' abuse. He spent a lot of time with each of these young people. He paid them money to get their driver's licenses, provided a great deal of intellectual stimulation, encouraged them to pursue their studies, and invested himself intellectually in them," the prosecutor elaborated.
The USB drive containing written documents recorded by the 70-year-old was discovered by his nephew, who had been "questioning his uncle's emotional and sexual life," added Étienne Manteaux. It is a document comprising "15 volumes, a very dense collection," he specified. The suspect's memoirs mention first names or nicknames, making it difficult to identify some victims. Approximately 40 out of 89 have been identified. The prosecutor has issued an appeal for witnesses "to allow any other potential victims to come forward." The Grenoble prosecutor indicated that the offenses committed before 1993 are, in principle, beyond the statute of limitations, with the exception of those recorded in Morocco.
When questioned by investigators, the suspect, who had no prior criminal record, admitted that his memoirs were "an expression of reality." He stated that he "had become aware of the seriousness of his actions and expressed regret, saying that he had not realized the moral hold he had over his young victims," Étienne Manteaux also indicated.
Perpetrator of a double murder
The man also admitted during the investigation to suffocating his terminally ill mother with a pillow in 1974. According to him, he wanted to end her suffering. He also admitted to killing his 92-year-old aunt in the 1990s, also by suffocating her with a pillow. Regarding his aunt, the prosecutor explained, "Because he was due to return to the Cévennes mountains and she begged him not to go, he chose to kill her as well. Taking advantage of her sleep, he grabbed a pillow and suffocated her."
A separate investigation, distinct from the one into the rapes and sexual assaults, has been opened for these two incidents, which the defendant "fully acknowledges and admits." He "justifies his actions by stating that he would like it if someone had done the same thing to him if he were in that terminal situation," the magistrate indicated. Investigators are looking into possible complicity in the rapes of minors, as well as other unsolved crimes that could be attributed to Jacques Leveugle.
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