A 19-year-old man will appear in court in Metz starting Tuesday for numerous rapes and sexual assaults against seven very young girls in his circle, the oldest of which were committed when he was only six years old.

The trial is being held behind closed doors before the juvenile court of Moselle until Friday. The accused, born in 2007, was still a minor at the time of the events, which took place in various locations in Lorraine between January 2013 and October 2023.

He is accused of sexually assaulting or raping two of his cousins, born in 2007 and 2012, from 2013 onwards, for several years, until 2019, sometimes with violence (pinching, slapping or punching) or even under the threat of a knife.

Later, in 2022, while he was in high school, a classmate accused him of following her off the bus, then sexually assaulting her, forcing her to kiss and touch her.

He is also accused of having, the following year, taken advantage of another classmate being half-asleep at a friend's house, to force her to endure caresses.

Three girlfriends, born between 2005 and 2008, also joined the proceedings as civil parties, denouncing inappropriate touching or violent sexual relations, committed under duress, with, for example, threats to give them a bad reputation or to distribute nude photos of them.

They also report the threat of a weapon - most often a knife, sometimes a razor - as well as physical violence when they push him away.

The investigation began in October 2023, when one of the accused's cousins denounced him, after years of silence, during a psychiatric evaluation.

According to the investigation, the accused was born into a family with "pathological" dynamics. As a child, he may have witnessed sexual relations that his father had, sometimes with girls as young as 14.

In kindergarten, he displayed violence towards girls as well as his teachers. He sometimes came to primary school with a knife and was expelled from two primary schools and three secondary schools.

Experts say he has a lot of anger "related to his childhood." They believe he has a "lack of empathic ability" combined with a "denial of the fundamental rights of others," which, according to them, constitutes "the early signs of a psychopathic disorder requiring significant vigilance."

The investigation revealed a high level of pornography consumption.

The accused denies the charges and says he feels no shame or guilt.