French prosecutors have charged a 79-year-old former educator with aggravated rape and sexual assault against 89 minors, following an investigation that uncovered alleged abuses spanning more than five decades and several continents (via The Local France). The suspect, Jacques Leveugle, was indicted in 2024 and has remained in custody since, according to Grenoble public prosecutor Étienne Manteaux, who publicly named him while urging potential victims and witnesses to come forward.
Authorities say the alleged crimes took place between 1967 and 2022 in countries including Germany, Switzerland, Morocco, Niger, Algeria, the Philippines, India and Colombia, as well as in France's overseas territory of New Caledonia. Leveugle worked internationally as a freelance teacher and instructor, including as a French teacher and a speleology instructor. Investigators identified the victims through extensive written records found on a USB drive, in which the suspect referred to sexual relations with minors aged between 13 and 17.
The investigation also uncovered confessions by Leveugle to two separate killings decades earlier. Prosecutors said he admitted to suffocating his terminally ill mother in the 1970s and later killing his elderly aunt in the 1990s, claims referenced in personal writings described as multi-volume "memoirs." The case has shocked investigators by its scope and duration, with authorities warning that further victims may still come forward as inquiries continue...