The investigation into the former presidential candidate and former deputy Jean Lassalle, suspected of rape and sexual assault, has been closed without further ado, as announced by the Bordeaux prosecutor’s office to France Bleu Béarn Bigorre this Friday, March 29.
“The investigations do not allow us to determine the existence of a criminal offense,” the Bordeaux prosecutor’s office told local media.
The investigation was opened in May 2023 following the filing of a complaint by a 45-year-old woman who accused the former Béarn MP-elect of rape and sexual assault. According to France Bleu, the lack of material elements did not allow the facts that were attributed to the elected person to be substantiated. Jean Lassalle has always proclaimed his innocence.
Alleged events of 2010
The alleged events date back to 2010, during the campaign for the regional elections in which the complainant participated.
The latter told BFMTV that Jean Lassalle had called her to ask her to “meet him at a large hotel in Bordeaux.” But upon her arrival, she would have found herself alone with the candidate in a room.
“He kissed me twice. I pushed him away,” she said. “Not know what to do”.
Former elected official “relieved”
“I don’t remember this person,” Jean Lassalle told France Bleu about the complainant in July 2023, speaking for the first time about the accusations against him.
“I have never been drugged or drunk to the point where I found a pregnant woman in my bed and raped her,” he continued.
According to local media, the former Béarn deputy said he was “relieved” by the dismissal of the complaint.
The president of the Résistons political party, Jean Lassalle, will head the Rural Alliance list together with the president of the hunters’ federation, Willy Schraen, during the European elections next June.
Source: BFM TV
