Yannick Agnel is under investigation for “rape and sexual assault on a 15-year-old”, announced the parquet floor of Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin) Thursday. The 29-year-old former swimmer was indicted on Saturday and placed under judicial supervision. Yannick Agnel has been the target of a complaint since this summer, filed by one of the daughters of his ex-trainer, according to information from France Inter. The Mulhouse prosecutor will hold a press conference on Monday at 11 a.m. Franceinfo summarizes what we know about this case.
A complaint filed this summer
A complaint against Yannick Agnel was filed in the summer of 2021, the Mulhouse prosecutor, Edwige Roux-Morizot, told AFP. The facts described date back to “about 2016”. A judicial investigation was opened for “rape and sexual assault on a 15-year-old ” (legal formula which means “less than 15 years”), facts punishable by 20 years of criminal imprisonment. In this context, Yannick Agnel was arrested in Paris, Thursday “late morning”, and placed in police custody in Mulhouse.
The prosecution did not disclose more information on what is alleged against the former swimmer, or on the identity of the person who filed this complaint. According to information from France Inter, this is one of the daughters of Yannick Agnel’s trainer in Mulhouse, Lionel Horter. The teamand The Parisian explain that she also swam in this club. The two dailies specify that the facts took place in early 2016, when the complainant was 13 years old. “Many former swimmers have been heard by investigators in recent weeks”, add The Team.
An investigation opened in Mulhouse
Mulhouse is the city where he trained between September 2014 and the Rio Olympics in August 2016, at the end of which he ended his career. He was then coached by Lionel Horter at Mulhouse Olympic Swimming (MON), a family club that has become a stronghold of French swimming. It was there, in particular, that the Olympic medalist and current Minister for Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, was revealed in her time.
Yannick Agnel was once close to the Horter family, to the point of having been lodged with them in spring 2016 according to The team, but relations have since deteriorated. A legal dispute opposes the club to several of its former swimmers, including Yannick Agnel. In July 2020, the Mulhouse court ordered the MON to pay Yannick Agnel 60,000 euros, which remained due to him for his last year of contract. The team claims that this sum has still not been paid and that the club have appealed. According to the daily, the appeal trial is scheduled for next March.
The swimmer suspended by Radio France
After the end of his career, Yannick Agnel had notably become a consultant in several media. On Franceinfo radio, he had been writing a column and a podcast on e-sport since last May. “Due to the ongoing legal proceedings, the management of franceinfo decides to suspend its collaboration with Yannick Agnel until the conclusions of the investigation”, Radio France announced to AFP on Thursday. The former swimmer also commented on swimming events on France Televisions, but is no longer under contract with the group.
The French e-sport team of which Yannick Agnel has become sports director, MCES, has not communicated about his indictment. The Mulhouse Olympique Natation did not react either.