The owner of the pornographic site “Jacquie et Michel” was indicted on Friday June 17. Arrested on Tuesday with his wife and three other men, Michel Piron, 64, was indicted after 72 hours in police custody for complicity in rape and human trafficking in an organized gang, noted the AFP during a public hearing before the judge of freedoms and detention (JLD). He was placed under judicial supervision as part of this investigation into suspicions of excesses in amateur porn.
The other three men – a former actor and two former directors – have also been indicted in this case, for rape, complicity in rape, pimping in an organized gang and human trafficking in an organized gang. One of them is also prosecuted for complicity in rape with an act of torture and barbarism. He was remanded in custody. The wife of Michel Piron, Araceli, was placed under the intermediate status of assisted witness and therefore emerged free Friday from the Paris court.
In July 2020, the prosecution opened an investigation entrusted to the Paris judicial police, after a report sent by Dare feminism, the Effronté-es and the movement of the Nest. These three associations relayed the testimonies of several actresses who claimed to have been forced into “‘unconventional and painful’ sexual practices” when they did not consent.
In a press release, Me Nicolas Cellupica, lawyer for the Arès group, chaired by Michel Piron and owner of the pornographic site, affirmed that Michel Piron was accused of “disputed facts – concerning a single complainant, in 2013”.“The Jacquie et Michel group acquires and distributes thousands of videos a year made by independent producers and deeply regrets that seven contentious scenes have been shot among them, over the last 20 years”he emphasizes again.
Before the JLD, the representative of the public prosecutor described a “system of pimping and human trafficking“, with some “demolished women”. “We lead them into a trap”, she said, denouncing a “procedure that traps victims in this system”.
“The vision of the public prosecutor is to say that porn is only a form of violence”for his part launched one of the defense lawyers. “Out of 7,000 women [filmées]there are seven plaintiffs”underlined Yves Levano, lawyer for Michel Piron.
A challenged industry
In an investigative book titled Judy, Lola, Sofia and me (Ed. Goutte d’Or, 2018), journalist Robin d’Angelo recounted his infiltration into the amateur porn industry and denounced the recurring lack of consent and non-compliance with labor law. The group, founded in 1999 and which announced a turnover of 15 million euros in 2016, according to the journalist, based its success on the purchase of amateur videos at low prices in France, before gradually professionalizing its production to come to compete now Dorcel among the leaders of the pornographic industry.
Another survey conducted in Paris since 2020 has greatly shaken up the world of French amateur porn by targeting the practices of the “French Bukkake” platform.
At least twelve people, including the producers nicknamed “Pascal OP” and “Mat Hadix”, are being prosecuted in this case, exceptional in its scope and open for aggravated human trafficking, gang rape or aggravated pimping. Since then, investigators have identified dozens of victims.