NEED TO KNOW
- French Olympic swimming champion Yannick Agnel has been indicted for allegedly raping and sexually assaulting the teenage daughter of his former coach
- The 33-year-old swimmer is set to stand trial after he was arrested for allegedly raping the teen in 2016, when she was 13
- Agnel earned two gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics
French Olympic swimming champion Yannick Agnel has been indicted for allegedly raping and sexually assaulting the 13-year-old daughter of his former coach.
According to the Associated Press and The Athletic, the 33-year-old swimmer, who earned two gold medals at the 2012 London Olympic Games, is set to stand trial after he was arrested for allegedly raping the teen in 2016, when she was 13.
His attorneys appealed the decision for Agnel to face the charges in May 2025, but the French appeals court denied the appeal and ordered the trial to proceed, per French newspaper Le Monde.
The prosecutor general’s office in Colmar, located in northeastern France, said on Thursday, Jan. 15, that Agnel was indicted by a criminal court and was ordered to go on trial because he was an adult at the time of the alleged acts.
Agnel has 10 days to appeal to France’s top court, the Court of Cassation, according to AP.
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Prosecutors said that the alleged incidents in question took place between Dec. 31, 2015, and Aug. 31, 2016, in several locations, including France, Thailand and Spain.
The outlets reported that Agnel was first arrested for the sexual offenses in December 2021, when a complaint was made about the alleged incidents in 2016. At the time, Agnel admitted the incidents occurred, but denied that any coercion took place.
That year, France passed a law that defined sex with a child under the age of 15 — France’s age of consent — as rape. It is now punishable by up to 20 years in jail.
In July 2024, Agnel, who retired from swimming in 2016, attended a meeting with the victim, who is now in her early 20s, that he had requested, per Le Monde.
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Agnel won gold in the 200m freestyle and the 4x100m freestyle relay at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He qualified for the 2016 Games in Rio, but failed to get through the heats that year. He announced his retirement from the sport soon after.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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