Three doctors from Vendôme hospital suspected of sexual assault and harassment, two are indicted

Eight women, working at the hospital as doctors, nurses or interns, then filed a complaint against three doctors working in the emergency department, including the head of the department.

Three doctors from the Vendôme hospital center (Loir-et-Cher) are suspected of sexual assault, sexual and moral harassment committed within the emergency department, the Blois prosecutor’s office said in a press release on Thursday, July 18. Two of them have been indicted.

The investigation was opened by the public prosecutor’s office after the referral made on March 29 by the director of the Vendôme hospital center. Eight women, working at the hospital center as doctors, nurses or interns, then filed a complaint against three doctors, aged 52 to 63, working in the emergency department, including the head of this department.

Two of the doctors, including the head of department, were implicated in several cases of sexual assault and sexual harassment. Some of these cases spanned several years. Four of the complainants simultaneously claimed to have been victims of the actions of the two doctors. A third doctor was implicated by a complainant who mentioned cases of sexual harassment.

In addition, several other women, interviewed by the police, described, without filing a complaint, facts of sexual assault, sexual and/or moral harassment. Three women also mentioned having been subjected, on the part of a health manager, to threats or acts of intimidation in connection with the denunciations. The three doctors were taken into custody on Tuesday. This Thursday, after their police custody, two doctors were presented to the public prosecutor as part of a judicial investigation.

One of the doctors was charged with “sexual assault and sexual harassment by a person abusing their authority”. The second doctor, head of the emergency department, was charged with “sexual assault and sexual harassment by a person abusing their authority”, “moral harassment at work” and “act of intimidation of a victim and subornation of a witness”.

The two doctors deny all the accusations. They have been placed under judicial supervision with various bans on contact, particularly with all the staff working at the Vendôme hospital. They can nevertheless continue to practice their profession elsewhere. The prosecution had requested that they be placed in pre-trial detention.