University of Bordeaux professor charged with rape

A professor, former vice-president of the University of Bordeaux, has been indicted for rape. The teacher is suspected of rape and sexual harassment committed in May 2020, and of sexual assaults between 2017 and 2020, the Bordeaux prosecutor’s office said on Thursday, July 11, confirming information from the newspaper South WestHe was placed under judicial supervision.

A philosophy teacher and researcher, Barbara Stiegler claims to have been raped during a party at her home in May 2020, which the accused denies. She informed the management of the UFR at the end of 2021 and the university’s reporting unit was notified of the alleged facts in June 2022. An initial investigation was closed without further action. Barbara Stiegler then filed a complaint with civil action, which led to the opening of a judicial investigation in February.

After a one-year suspension in 2022/2023, the duration of an administrative investigation, the professor concerned has been banned from teaching since February 1, 2024 and for one year. This sanction was taken by the disciplinary committee of the University of Toulouse-Capitole, where the procedure was transferred.

This decision did not punish the reported acts of rape, which could not be “materially” established according to the disciplinary section, but aims at facts of “nudity imposed in the context of work meetings (…) as well as in the private context”, which the accused does not contest.