Mgr Georges Colomb is accused of attempted rape of a man in his forties at the time of the events, which date back to 2013.
Bishop of La Rochelle, Mgr Georges Colomb was indicted on Friday November 17, 2023 for attempted rape, the Paris prosecutor’s office revealed this Monday, which thus confirms the information from Mediapart. The one who is accused of having attempted to rape a man aged 40 at the time of the facts, which allegedly took place in 2013, had requested his withdrawal in June 2023, after the revelation of the accusations against him in the press. He was also placed under judicial supervision on Monday. Mgr Georges Colomb is now prohibited from contacting the victim as well as the witnesses. He is also prohibited from appearing in certain places.
There Conference of Bishops of France reacted immediately on Monday, November 20, by publishing a press release in which it reaffirmed “its confidence in justice”. The French Bishops’ Conference also expresses “its concern for the person concerned, and recalls the presumption of innocence to which Mgr Georges Colomb is legitimately entitled”. Then directly addressing “those who will be troubled or hurt” by this news, “in particular within the diocese of La Rochelle and among the friends of the Foreign Missions of Paris, the Conference of Bishops expresses its closeness”.
Mgr Georges Colomb denounces “slanderous allegations”
At the origin of the investigation by the Paris prosecutor’s office, a report which had been made by the Foreign Missions of Paris (MEP), of which Mgr Georges Colomb was the superior general between 2010 and 2016. On June 13, 2023, the principal concerned had reacted strongly to the accusations against him, expressing “his amazement and his incomprehension in the face of these slanderous allegations and denied them[ant] vigorously”, before asking the Pope for his withdrawal during the investigation, “while remaining bishop of La Rochelle” in order to “be able to prepare his defense and preserve the diocese of La Rochelle”.