A house with a swimming pool, on a Greek island, in August 2020. Two families on vacation. The hosts are Dominique Boutonnat and his wife. Their guests are their best friends. Their eldest son, aged 21, is the godson of the boss of the National Center for Cinema and Animated Images (CNC). Dominique Boutonnat has known his mother since their studies at Sciences Po and chose his father as godfather to one of his children.
Nanterre Criminal Court, Friday June 14. The godson sits on the civil parties bench. Dominique Boutonnat is accused of having sexually assaulted him. He obtained a dismissal of the charge of attempted rape initially brought against him. His wife came to support him. On the other side of the audience bay, in the front row, a father and mother watch over the frail young man with fine features who has filed a complaint against his godfather.
During ten hours of hearing, two versions of the same night clashed. It is first the complainant who tells the story. “Dominique was like a second father. It was very nice to have this adult figure to confide in”, he said. He opened up about his homosexuality to his godfather and he helped him announce it to his parents. That summer, he had just returned from three years of study in London and was preparing to leave for Seoul, South Korea, to continue his university studies. On August 3, after a late dinner in a tavern, and while everyone had gone to bed, Dominique Boutonnat and his godson extended the evening by the swimming pool, having a series of drinks.
Recorded conversation
“We talk a lot, I tell him how grateful I am for his support. He tells me that he considers me a son. » They swim naked in the pool – “we discuss, there is no ambiguous gesture” – come out, talk and drink some more. The young man admires the sunrise, the towel he wears around his waist slips, his godfather photographs him, and compliments him. “But the compliments have taken a bit of a different form, I feel uncomfortable. » They enter the house together, Dominique Boutonnat accompanies his godson to his room, lies down next to him on his bed. “And there, things happen very quickly…” At the stand, he hesitates for a moment, before describing “increasingly explicit hugs, rubbing, caresses”. “I perceive it as totally degrading. He’s no longer my godfather. » A few hours later, they meet in the bathroom. “Dominique kisses me. I vomit. »
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