According to the president of the court, he had “a propensity to sexualize work relationships”, not hesitating to ask some of his female colleagues to mime masturbation. A 52-year-old man, former executive at the Pays de la Loire regional council and then at the town hall of Pornichet (Loire-Atlantique), was found guilty on Tuesday by the Nantes criminal court of sexual assault and sexual harassment, reports West France.
The case began in 2017 after complaints filed by young women denouncing the obscene comments and gestures of their supervisor. One of them, aged 22 and an intern at the time of the events, also said she had been sexually assaulted. In total, around twenty women were interviewed during the investigation.
Now settled in another region and having left the public service, this father was sentenced to three years in prison including six months, a sentence which he will serve under electronic surveillance at home. He is also banned from holding public office for three years and will have to compensate his victims.