Fiona Ferro, a French tennis player who accuses her former coach of rape, said in a statement that she “trusts justice” in this case.
Pierre Bouteyre was indicted on August 19. This 50-year-old tennis coach is accused by his former player, Fiona Ferro, of “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”. The French filed a complaint against him on February 25 in Fréjus, in the Var. The facts would have occurred from 2012 to 2015, when the young woman was aged 15 to 18 when he was over 40 years old. On Friday, she reacted in a press release, indicating that she had “all (her) confidence in the justice of (her) country”.
“I confirm that I was not consenting and that the rapes and sexual assaults were committed by moral constraint in accordance with the provisions of article 222-24 of the Penal Code”, she declared. Pierre Bouteyre recognized “the materiality of the relationship” but on the other hand denies “any constraint, it was a love story according to him”, explained the lawyer for the former coach, Maître Virginie Pin, to the AFP. “Thank you very much to all those who show me their support in this difficult but necessary step”, continued Fiona Ferro in her press release.
Alizé Cornet’s reaction
She notably received the support of Alizé Cornet, also a former player trained by the accused, between 2002 and 2012, then between 2018 and 2019. While she is currently playing the US Open, she declared: “Obviously I ‘m sending Fiona huge support, which I did via text because she’s my buddy. It’s terrible, for both of them and especially for Fiona. He was my coach for ten years so it’s not cool to learn that kind of stuff. But I was already aware so I did not fall too high either. I’ve known it for a few months.” Quoted by “L’Equipe”, she confirmed that she would be heard as a witness in this investigation. “Courage to Fiona. We are with her, we love her and all the girls in the locker room think of her very much. I hope she will be able to move on in her life when this is over, ”she concluded.
Fiona Ferro, 25, a professional since 2012, had reached 39th place in the world in March 2021. The Frenchwoman was eliminated on August 24 during qualifying for the US Open. Pierre Bouteyre “was Fiona Ferro’s private coach,” explained the player’s lawyer. “He accompanied him during tournaments which often took place abroad,” added Me Colombani, who was also the lawyer for two victims of another tennis coach, Régis de Camaret, convicted in 2014 on appeal. to ten years in prison for rape of minors by the Court of Assizes of Var.