Accused of having drugged a deputy without her consent, the senator Les Indépendants de Loire-Atlantique was placed in police custody. The elected official said she spent the evening at home and suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
First statements in an extraordinary affair. Senator Les Indépendants de Loire-Atlantique Joël Guerriau was placed in police custody on Thursday, suspected of having drugged a member of parliament with the aim of sexually assaulting her, revealed our colleagues from RMC. The elected official told investigators that she had noticed “strange behavior” on the part of the senator that evening, BFMTV learned from a source close to the investigation.
A dinner at the senator’s house
The deputy, whose identity remains confidential, tells the police, in her first statement, that she and the senator, who have known each other for around ten years, will meet on the evening of November 14.
Both must celebrate together an event whose nature is not specified. For the occasion, the two elected officials must meet at a restaurant, but Joël Guerriau finally invites the MP to come and dine at his place instead, around 8 p.m.
Throughout the evening, the senator from Loire-Atlantique offers his guest several drinks that he prepares in his kitchen. According to her, he adopts “strange behavior”, she notes in particular that he turns up the intensity of the light dimmer during the evening. He also looks at her “insistently” and says he wants them to “party together”.
Sudden cold sweats
The evening then takes a strange turn. The MP claims that about 20 minutes after taking a sip from the drink that the elected official served her, she suddenly feels bad: she says she feels cold sweats and feels her heart rate accelerate.
She becomes frightened, but decides not to show it to her host, and prefers to order a taxi and leave the premises at 10 p.m. for the National Assembly. Arriving at Parliament, she explained her situation to two of her colleagues and help arrived quickly. On site, she underwent a first series of examinations. They confirm that the deputy has very dilated pupils and a high heart rate.
Taken to Lariboisière hospital, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, the MP was subjected to a blood test and urine tests. These new examinations reveal the presence of ecstasy in his body.
A sachet of ecstasy found at the chosen one’s home
The elected official claims to have always maintained a friendly relationship with Joël Guerriau and does not understand the senator’s behavior, while the first elements of the investigation suggest that he could have drugged her without her knowledge.
According to the MP, the elected representative of the Independents did not attempt any physical rapprochement with her during the evening. However, she says she is convinced that if she had confided her discomfort to him, he would probably have offered to stay at his place for the night in order to abuse her.
A search was carried out at the senator’s home and allowed investigators to get their hands on a sachet of ecstasy. The MP filed a complaint.
The senator is suspected of “administering to a person, without their knowledge, a substance likely to impair their discernment or control of their actions to commit rape or sexual assault.” He faces 5 years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros.