Jacques Bouthier, the CEO of the insurance group Assu 2000, was indicted and imprisoned on Saturday May 21 for “trafficking in human beings” and “rape of a minor” in particular, several media report, including franceinfo, confirming information from RTL.
At the end of a preliminary investigation opened in mid-March, a judicial investigation was opened for “trafficking in human beings against minors and attempted rape of minors over 15, recourse to prostitution of a minor, sexual assault on a minor under the age of 15, association of criminals with a view to committing the crime of kidnapping and sequestration in an organized gang and possession of child pornography images”.
Five other people are indicted according to information collected by AFP. The investigation is entrusted to the brigade of minors of Paris.
Video
According to franceinfo, a 22-year-old young woman filed a complaint in mid-March, explaining to the police that she had been living for five years in one of the apartments belonging to the 75-year-old CEO of Assu 2000, in exchange for sex. She also claimed that the entrepreneur, now judging her “too old”, asked him to “to find” a younger girl to replace her. This is how a 14-year-old girl, who like her lived in a squat, would have moved into the apartment.
To support her statements, the complainant provided the investigators with a video showing Jacques Bouthier and this minor in a bed.
Six people charged
The CEO is also suspected of having tried to organize the abduction of the young woman, in order to recover the video and force her to leave France. Jacques Bouthier is notably accused of having instructed three employees, security guards, one of whom is a former member of the GIGN, and his own wife to find a way to get him to leave France for the Maghreb.
According to information from franceinfo, Jacques Bouthier did not recognize the facts during his police custody and mentioned a “trap” to make him sing.
The Assu 2000 group, founded in 1975 and renamed Vilavi last January, presents itself as the “first broker expert in insurance and credit dedicated to individuals in France” and boasts 1,800 employees and 163 million euros in turnover. In 2020, the magazine Challenges had estimated the heritage of Jacques Bouthier at 160 million euros, placing him in 487th position in its ranking of the main fortunes of France. It dropped out of the rankings in 2021.