The Minister of Solidarity is now the subject of a complaint filed with the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office by an elected centrist.
The day after his appointment on May 20, Damien Abad, the Minister of Solidarity, Autonomy and Disabled People, was accused by three women of sexual assault and rape which allegedly took place between 2010 and 2011. Among them , an elected centrist, whose testimony had been revealed by Mediapart during the month of June. This Monday, June 27, the alleged victim cited under the pseudonym of Laetitia, explains to the same media that she has filed a complaint with the Paris prosecutor’s office. The elected official accuses the Minister of Solidarity of having tried to rape her in 2010.
Laetitia had already denounced sexual assault and harassment on the part of Damien Abad during a wedding which took place in July 2020. These facts benefit from a prescription and cannot trigger legal proceedings. However, the elected official also denounced an attempted rape which occurred the same year. “This is a complaint for “attempted rape”, so the prescription is the same as for rape, ie 20 years. The facts having been committed in 2010, my client can file a complaint until 2030″explained the lawyer for the complainant to Mediapart.
The complainant wants “that it stops, that he cannot start again”
The chosen one has chosen to break the silence twice on this matter. A first time by testifying anonymously in the survey conducted by Mediapart published on June 14. Laetitia explained that the stories of the other two victims reminded her of her own experience.
A second time by officially filing a complaint with the courts in a will “that it stops, that he can’t start again”she explained to the investigative media.
The elected official does not wish to expose herself to the media but she has compiled a file to support her complaint. According to Mediapart, the victim would have at least eight witness certificates and evidence, in particular by bailiff.
Damien Abad disputes all the facts with which he is accused. Through a written statement sent to AFP, the Minister of Solidarity had denounced “a carefully chosen calendar” concerning the Médiapart investigation. “As for the reported allegations, they revolt me and I categorically refute them”, had he reacted to the accusations of Laetitia.