French authorities have arrested National Assembly member Senator Joël Guerriau following allegations that he drugged a female deputy with the intention of sexually assaulting her.
The situation in question arose on Tuesday, when the victim, identified by sources close to the trial as a deputy, began to feel unwell after having a drink at the house of Guerriau, a member of the centrist Horizontes party and ally of the former Prime Minister. Edouard Philippe.
The woman left the politician’s house already feeling unwell, and subsequent tests confirmed the presence of traces of “ecstasy” in her body.
According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, the senator is accused of “administering to a person, without his knowledge, a substance likely to affect his judgment or control over his actions, with the intention of committing rape or sexual assault.”
Subsequent searches of Guerriau’s home revealed the presence of several drugs.
The lawmaker’s blood tests also showed positive results, with traces of amphetamines, opiates, cannabis, cocaine, methadone and MDMA, according to investigative sources cited by BFMTV, a French news channel.
Guerriau’s defense denied the allegations.
The senator and the victim were present this Friday in a confrontation that, according to lawyer Rémi-Pierre Drai, allowed Guearriau to reconfirm his version of events, excluding any evidence of crime.
Source: DN
