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Tennis: Fiona Ferro accuses her former coach, Pierre Bouteyre, of rape and sexual assault

Pierre Bouteyre, former coach of tennis player Fiona Ferro, was indicted on August 19 for “rape” and “sexual assault”, after a complaint filed in February by the player, 259th in the world ranking. At the end of 2021, 25-year-old Fiona Ferro confided in her parents about alleged rape and sexual assault, which would have been committed from 2012 to 2015, when she was aged between 15 and 18 years old. In January, she had contacted a lawyer, Me Isabelle Colombani, before filing a complaint on February 25 at the police station in Fréjus, in the Var.

A preliminary investigation was then opened. On August 18, a few hours before flying to New York and the US Open, Fiona Ferro was confronted with the one she accuses, who had just been taken into custody. Pierre Bouteyre, 50, was then indicted for “rape committed on a minor by a person having authority over the victim” and “sexual assault on a minor over the age of 15 by a person having authority over the victim”. He was placed under judicial supervision with a ban on entering into contact with Fiona Ferro and training minors, with the obligation to submit to psychological care, said the public prosecutor of Draguignan, Patrice Cameroon.

According to his lawyer Me Virginie Pin, joined by AFP, Pierre Bouteyre “recognizes the materiality of the relationship but denies any constraint, it was a love story according to him. “A classic defense in this type of case, reacts Me Colombani, also counsel for the former French player Isabelle Demongeot and another victim of Régis de Camaret, former tennis coach, sentenced in 2014 to ten years jail for rape of minors.

The first active player to denounce rape

“We are today in 2022, the sports federations have informed, we no longer ignore the rights between coaches and coaches and the notion of control”, continues the lawyer, who explains that his client does not had not had “sexual relations”, “or even flirtation” before these alleged attacks. “She considered her coach as her father, her best friend. “A private trainer who accompanied him on the world circuit, until 2016. The investigation continues and former players of Pierre Bouteyre, in particular Alizé Cornet, could be heard.

A few days ago, Fiona Ferro was eliminated in qualifying for the US Open on August 24 (6-2 6-3) by Briton Katie Boulter, a few days after the indictment of her former coach. “My client is extremely upset, continues Master Colombani, I do not know if she has the head for tennis today. “If several former French players, in particular Isabelle Demongeot, filed a complaint after their career, Fiona Ferro is the first in activity on the professional circuit to denounce rapes.

“She spoke, how will we look at her during the tournaments? What will we offer her as support, in particular psychological or freezing of her classification, knowing that the legal proceedings are extremely long and that she has a career to lead? asks his lawyer. Questions posed in our columns by Isabelle Demongeot. “The question of players who denounce during their career also arises, how do we support them? she pointed. For a woman’s life, it’s better to speak as soon as possible, but there are still too many brakes. »

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