A Damien Abad bis case? Severely handicapped by cerebral palsy, Alexandre Jollien also faces a complaint for sexual assault. The 46-year-old Swiss philosopher, who needs constant “help” in his daily and professional life, is accused by a former trainee of the publishing house Les Arènes of having engaged in sexual touching in a Parisian hotel room, during work sessions, during the summer of 2015.
“I have never imposed anything on anyone sexually,” said his client in a written exchange with The Parisian, media which also collected the testimony of the alleged victim. An investigation, entrusted to the police station of the 5th arrondissement of Paris, has been opened and “is in progress” after the complaint filed in June 2021, confirms the Paris prosecutor’s office.
“My point is just to say that I have been harassed”
According to the story of the former trainee, Alexandre Jollien also asked him to give him a hand massage, which he accepted, and repeatedly offered to undress, which he refused. In the exchange quoted by The Parisian, the writer admitted to having found himself once naked in front of the trainee, in the presence of other collaborators during a work session. But he “totally disputes” the charges, says his lawyer Philippe Guillemard.
The then 20-year-old said he spoke about it within the publishing house but did not file a complaint at the time. Me Guillemard told AFP that he had “the impression that the timing is not spontaneous: there is a desire to harm”. “I do not blame Alexandre Jollien for his desire. (…) My point is fair to say that I was harassed, ”said the young man on a daily basis.
“People who know him know it’s kindness itself. (The facts denounced) are in total contradiction with who he is and what he was able to express through his writings, he is very concerned about others and respect for the law, ”annoys the lawyer, specifying that his client had not yet been heard. The lawyer for the former trainee could not immediately be reached. Asked, its current publisher, Gallimard, to which the author of “Naked Philosopher” (Seuil, 2010) went after the alleged facts, did not wish to comment on the case.