The former CEO of the Assu 2000 group, Jacques Bouthier, indicted in particular for rape of a minor, obtained his release on Monday under judicial supervision, accompanied by a bail of 500,000 euros, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. , confirming information from Parisian. An investigating judge had ordered the release with placement under judicial supervision of Jacques Bouthier, but the Paris prosecutor’s office had appealed.
500,000 euros deposit to be paid
On Monday, the investigating chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal confirmed the decision of the investigating magistrate, detailed one of these sources. However, it increased the deposit to be paid to the sum of 500,000 euros. According to the sources, a medical expertise requested by the defense recently concluded that the general state of health of 76-year-old Jacques Bouthier had deteriorated and deemed him incompatible with his continued detention.
“The question of senility arises, at least for some of the facts,” assured AFP in the fall of a source in Jacques Bouthier’s entourage. The entrepreneur was indicted in May 2022, in particular for human trafficking and rape of a minor. He is also being prosecuted for criminal conspiracy to commit the crime of kidnapping and kidnapping in an organized gang, as well as possession of child pornography images.
Eight people charged
The case began when a 22-year-old woman presented herself to Parisian police in March 2022 and explained to them that for five years she had been “captive” of a wealthy man who raped her, RTL had revealed. Becoming, according to him, “too old for him”, the young woman would have been forced to find a “substitute” to take over. A 14-year-old girl then took her place in Jacques Bouthier’s apartment.
The complainant had managed to film them together in a bed, before entrusting the video to the investigators. The ex-CEO is suspected of having wanted to set up a team to kidnap the young woman, recover the video and force her to leave France. In total, at least eight people are indicted in this case.