In Lyon, Anthony, a 39-year-old former bodyguard, admitted in court that he drugged his former partner before sexually assaulting her, after previously denying the allegations. His confession came on the second day of his trial before the Rhône criminal court, following three years of investigation, nine hearings, and multiple conflicting versions of events. He told the court that he had given his partner pills on two occasions and acknowledged filming sexual acts involving her while she was unconscious. He also apologized to her, their children, and his family, saying he had “destroyed everything” and that he would accept any sentence without appealing.
His statements were immediately challenged by the victim’s lawyer, who argued that the evidence showed a much longer pattern of drugging and abuse than the defendant admitted. She said toxicology and hair analysis pointed to the presence of the substances over an extended period, contradicting his claim of only two administrations. The defense also faced new video evidence, described in court as deeply disturbing, showing the accused committing sexual acts against an inert body, contaminating household items, and making degrading recordings.
The victim testified that she had never behaved during intimacy the way the accused described and rejected his attempt to normalize the conduct. A psychologist told the court that she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and no longer feels able to imagine a romantic relationship, fearing intimacy. The expert said the recordings, though painful to watch, could help the victim understand the abuse as real and not imagined.
The prosecution portrayed the case as one of extreme humiliation and dehumanization. The victim’s lawyer said she had been treated like an object and “a toy,” arguing that the defendant manipulated her while simultaneously appearing to comfort her about harassment he himself helped create. She said the repeated lies and changing accounts amounted to psychological torture, and stressed that the victim had refused a closed-door hearing in order to regain control over her image and dignity.
The prosecutor compared Anthony to a “disciple” or “alter ego” of Dominique Pelicot, the man convicted in the broader Pelicot rape case, saying he had drawn on that example and applied it. The prosecution requested 12 years in prison, plus six years of socio-judicial supervision, for acts described as repeated rape and sexual assault. The victim’s lawyer said no sentence could ever fully compensate for what she had endured.
The defense argued that Anthony was a broken man when arrested, trapped in denial and personal crisis. His lawyer insisted that Dominique Pelicot was not directly part of this case, except through contact, and asked for a lower sentence. He also told the court it took him two years to make his client understand that inserting an object into a person’s sex organs constitutes rape.
Before the verdict, Anthony again apologized to the victim, his family, his children, and the court for lying the day before. The court sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
