YouTuber Norman Thavaud was taken into police custody on Monday, December 5, accused of corruption of a minor, but also of rape. Maggie Desmarais, one of the accusers, was summoned by the juvenile brigade for a confrontation with the videographer.
“I realized it wasn’t healthy or normal. But it took me a while to realize it was problematic as a relationship. I trusted Norman at the time.” These are the words of Maggie Desmarais, one of the accusers of Norman Thavaud, famous YouTuber placed in police custody, Monday, December 5, 2022, for suspicion of rape and corruption of a minor. The one who confided in the Quebec magazine for a long time Urbania has since been summoned by the family protection brigade (BPF) in charge of the investigation. According to Release, Maggie Desmarais would have made the trip from Canada for a confrontation with Norman Thavaud, better known on the Web under the pseudonym “Norman makes videos”. Confrontation which should be organized Tuesday, December 6, 2022.
Maggie Desmarais had alerted to the situation on July 8, 2020 via her Instagram account. In April 2021, with Urbania, she returned to her complaint. “I do not expect much from justice, it would not be the first time that an attacker would be acquitted,” she said. “I know that there are flaws in the legal system. But I still filed a complaint, out of principle. And then, I want Norman to finally assume what he has done”, she confided again, before to return to his virtual relationship with the YouTuber. “I believe that the relationship of trust that is created, even before you speak with your favorite YouTuber, is already there because you see him at home in his videos, you feel like you know him, and that is a good person. I think that’s why I trusted him almost blindly,” she explained.
This young Quebec woman, aged 16 when she says she was a victim of the videographer, had thus described herself as a “fan” of the YouTuber at the time. The latter, then 30 years old, would have, according to his version, abused the situation to obtain “photos and videos of a sexual nature, sent by Snapchat, and exerted a psychological influence in 2018”. The young woman had decided to file a complaint in the summer of 2020 in Canada for “child luring” and “sexual exploitation of a minor”, the equivalent in France of filing a complaint for corruption of a minor revealed the Montreal media, Urbania.
Intimate photos requested
Maggie Desmarais, interviewed in April 2021 by this same media, had indicated that the YouTuber was “insistent” before “becoming more and more demanding” in their exchanges. The situation lasted nine months, added the young woman. Urbania declared, for his part, to have obtained evidence that the YouTuber had requested intimate photos of Maggie Desmarais, but that the latter would also have sent some. Norman Thavaud had admitted to the media having dialogued with the teenager, but refuted the other accusations.
Following a months-long investigation by the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM) in France, the young Quebecer was summoned to France for a confrontation with Norman Thavaud, which should therefore take place this Tuesday, December 6, added Release. The French media also revealed that these are five “other potential victims” who have already been questioned by the courts for rape charges. The complainant confirmed to AFP, this Monday, December 5, to be in France to be confronted with Norman before the investigators of the BPM this Tuesday, December 6.