AGNEL. Accused and then indicted for rape and sexual assault, the Yannick Agnel case could take a new turn following a new accusation…
[Mis à jour le 13 janvier à 13h09] While the world swimming championships begin this Saturday, June 18 on the side of Budapest, Yannick Agnel, will not be at the microphone of France Télévisions, he who has been indicted for rape and sexual assault on the daughter of his former trainer Lionel Horter, aged 13 at the time of the alleged events.
Since June 3, 2022, Yannick Agnel has also been the subject of another investigation, as revealed The Parisian. The investigating judge in charge of the case has indeed asked the Mulhouse prosecution to open a supplementary indictment for acts of sexual assault on a minor. According to the daily, the cause would be gestures of a sexual nature on a young minor girl of his entourage during a drunken evening… According to France Info, he himself would have mentioned these facts during his police custody last December in the first case. The investigators would also have telephone taps where members of Agnel’s family would speak of this episode. For the time being, the swimmer has not yet been heard or indicted in this second part.
What do we know about the rape charges against Yannick Agnel?
The facts go back to the years 2014-2016 when the swimmer belonged to the Mulhouse club. Yannick Agnel was coming out of two years of training in the United States, in the wake of his Olympic titles in London in 2012. The swimmer had returned to France and had taken out a license at Mulhouse Olympic Natation in September 2014. He went there trained for two years under the orders of Lionel Horter.
At a press conference on Monday, December 13, the public prosecutor of Mulhouse Edwige Roux-Morizot indicated that the former Olympic champion acknowledged the materiality of the facts of which he is accused even if the latter indicates that the ex-swimmer “n didn’t have the feeling that there was constraint”. Specifying the age of the respondent and the complainant at the time of the facts, the prosecutor explained that “if the facts constitute rape it is because you are aware that there is a very important between the 13 years of the alleged victim and the 24 years of Yannick Agnel”.
“Like the majority of rape complaints, a whole psychological journey took place in the complainant and which made her decide, because she was in bad shape, to file a complaint”, Edwige Roux told the press. – Morizot. “All the facts took place in 2016. This also happened in Thailand, in Rio, and in Tenerife I believe. Which suggests that there were several facts”. The investigations are continuing, Yannick Agnel has been placed under judicial control and is not imprisoned.
What is Yannick Agnel’s risk?
Accused and then indicted for rape of a minor, the former Olympic swimming champion acknowledged the materiality of the facts, but explains that he did not feel any constraint. Still “presumed innocent” in the words of the prosecutor, the swimmer risks going to prison in the coming days. Indeed, according to article 222-24 of the Penal Code, “rape is punished by twenty years of criminal imprisonment when it is committed on a minor of 15 years old. “A minor of 15 years old cannot consent to an act of a sexual relationship with an adult, except in very specific and determined circumstances”, explains Anne Bouillon, lawyer at the bar of Nantes and specialist in violence against women for France Info. The latter evokes with our colleagues the ” Romeo and Juliet clause which states that, if the age difference is less than five years, the offense is not characterized”. In the case of Yannick Agnel, “if it is this law that should apply, then it would fall under the scope of offense and rape”
Yannick Agnel in conflict with the Horter clan?
L’Equipe reveals that several swimmers have been auditioned in recent days before Yannick Agnel’s custody. And according to several media, this affair could relaunch the war between the Horter clan and Yannick Agnel… Yannick Agnel and the Mulhouse club have indeed been in conflict since the swimmer’s retirement. He is claiming 60,000 euros in unpaid bonuses from the club, which the club disputed. In this case, Agnel had won in the first instance but the Mulhouse club appealed the decision.
Who is Yannick Agnel?
Born June 9, 1992, Yannick Agnel is one of the most successful swimmers in French swimming. Barely 20 years old, he won his first three Olympic medals at the London Olympics, including two gold in the 200m freestyle and the 4x100m relay and a silver medal in the 4×200 relay. On this occasion, he became the first French swimmer to win two gold medals at the same Olympiad. The following year, the Nîmes renewed his performance at the World Championships in Barcelona by winning the title in the 200 meter freestyle, and in the 4 × 100 meter relay.
Yannick Agnel retired
It was just after the Rio Olympics in 2016 that Nîmes Yannick Agnel retired. The man with two Olympic titles will make this decision after his elimination during the 200m freestyle series. After resuming his studies at Paris-Dauphine University, Yannick Agnel became a consultant for France Télévisions in 2019.
Yannick Agnel and E-sport
The former swimmer is also very involved in the field of E-sport by becoming sports director of the professional team (MCES), an entity based in Marseille which excels at the high level in games such as Fortnite, League of Legends or Clash of clans. For the past few months, he has also been hosting a podcast on eSport in partnership with France Info and L’Equipe. Asked by Le Figaro, the former swimmer explained that he felt good in this new area. “When I stopped swimming, I oriented myself towards the areas that seemed to me to be the right decisions but I ran into the reality of things: I was not really passionate about my choices. I needed touch the radiator to realize that it was hot. By funnel effect, I analyzed what I really wanted to work in the future. And I found what suited me, especially with the E -sport.”
Yannick Agnel and Jordan Pothain
Considered one of the leaders in Rio, had Yannick Agnel dropped the France team? At the time, when he was involved in the 4x200m relay, Yannick Agnel withdrew, leaving his team alone. A difficult choice to cash in at the time for Jordan Pothain. “Everyone will make up his mind. We were bathed in lies, a lot of lies surrounded this relay”. He even added in an interview to The Team that “he was dishonest towards his teammates, the people of the France team and towards me also individually”. The principal concerned responded to the controversy during a press conference, assuring that he would have swum “suffering or not” if the national technical direction of swimming had not replaced him against his will. “Even at 40 fever, I would have gotten high, he added. Those who know me know that I have never let go of anyone, nor abandoned anyone, let alone my team.”
What is Yannick Agnel’s shoe size?
The Nîmes swimmer has quite impressive measurements. In addition to his 2.02m (he measured 1.93m at 14 years old) and his 90kg, the London Olympic champion wears a 50.