Famous French YouTuber Norman Thavaud was taken into police custody in Paris on Monday for questioning on charges of rape and corruption of a minor. He would have made six victims, including a Quebecer.
On Monday, the Paris court confirmed to Agence France-Presse that Norman Thavaud, known as “Norman makes videos”, was placed in police custody as part of a preliminary investigation entrusted to the Brigade protection of minors (BPM).
According to the French daily Releasefive of the six victims would accuse Norman of rape and two were minors at the time.
” FINALLY. All thanks to my complaint over 2 years ago. I can’t believe my eyes. The next few days will be very emotional. Positive vibes are welcome. Thank you all for your support from the start, we did it, ”said one of the alleged victims of the youtuber, Quebecer Maggie Desmarais, on Facebook.
In 2020, the young woman, who was a great admirer of the youtubeur, had denounced him in an Instagram post. She had then told how Norman would have taken advantage of his notoriety to manipulate her and would have encouraged her to send him messages and photos of a sexual nature. She had attached screenshots of messages from 2018 to her post.
“He was insistent, he was more and more demanding. The longer it lasted, the more manipulation it was, ”she said in an interview with Urbania in April 2021. Norman also reportedly sent her photos in return. His exchanges with the youtubeur lasted nine months.
At the material time in 2018, Maggie Desmarais was 16 years old. He was 30. In 2020, she filed a complaint in Canada for “child luring” and “sexual exploitation of a minor”.
Monday, the young woman confirmed to Agence France-Presse to be in France to be confronted with Norman in front of the investigators.
As part of Urbania’s investigation, other women had also accused the YouTuber of similar facts.
Millions of subscribers
Norman got his start on YouTube in 2011. He now has 12 million subscribers on the platform and his videos have been viewed over 2.7 billion times. He made a name for himself with videos inspired by his daily life such as “Having a cat” or “The toilets”.
A stand-up aficionado, he performed on stage for two solo shows between 2015 and 2020, in addition to film and television appearances.
In 2018, the French YouTuber with 17.6 million subscribers Squeezie, denounced on Twitter “the YouTubers [y compris ceux qui crient sur tous les toits qu’ils sont féministes] who take advantage of the psychological vulnerability of young subscribers to obtain sexual intercourse”.
His tweet had been widely redistributed as part of the #balancetonyoutubeur movement. Some testimonies had targeted Norman.
On Monday, Webedia, the French company specializing in online media, announced on Twitter the suspension of its collaboration with youtuber Norman Thavaud.
With Agence France-Presse