French Ex-Senator Convicted in Landmark Drug-Facilitated Assault Case
A Paris court has sentenced former French senator Joel Guerriau to four years in prison, with 18 months to be served, for drugging a fellow parliamentarian with MDMA in what prosecutors described as an attempted sexual assault. The conviction marks a significant moment in France's ongoing reckoning with drug-facilitated sexual violence.Guerriau, 68, was found guilty of spiking the drink of MP Sandrine Josso, 50, during a visit to his Paris apartment in November 2023. The court ordered him to pay €5,000 in damages for emotional distress to Josso, who has since become a prominent advocate against chemical submission.The case has drawn particular attention given its intersection with France's political establishment and the broader #MeToo movement. Guerriau, formerly of the centre-right Horizons party, was suspended when charges emerged and resigned from the Senate in October 2024.During testimony, Josso described feeling unwell after drinking champagne at what she believed was a friendly celebration of Guerriau's re-election. "I had gone to visit a friend and I discovered an aggressor," she told the court, recounting how she managed to leave the apartment and seek medical attention.Hospital toxicology reports confirmed Josso's blood contained three times the recreational dose of MDMA. The evidence contradicted Guerriau's defense that he had accidentally served the spiked drink, claiming he had intended to consume the drug himself the previous evening due to depression.Prosecutors highlighted internet searches Guerriau had conducted regarding MDMA and GHB, though he claimed no recollection of these activities. "I was on the train, thoughts and ideas just come to you," he testified, suggesting his searches were related to staying informed about current events.The conviction comes amid heightened awareness of chemical submission in France, particularly following the high-profile Pelicot case, where Dominique Pelicot was convicted of drugging his wife and facilitating her rape by multiple men over a decade. Josso has joined advocacy efforts led by Caroline Darian, Pelicot's daughter, who attended the Guerriau proceedings alongside her brother."What I went through is still very painful," Josso stated before the trial. "Psychological trauma feels like being frozen in time... I jump at the slightest thing. I've become very vulnerable." Her advocacy work has focused on raising awareness about the prevalence and impact of drug-facilitated sexual assault.Guerriau's legal team has announced plans to appeal the verdict, while Josso described the sentence as a "huge relief." The case underscores growing judicial attention to chemical submission cases and their psychological impact on victims, potentially setting precedents for similar prosecutions across France's political and social spheres.Source: BBC News
