French prosecutors opened a judicial investigation on Wednesday into an 80-year-old former priest, Jacques Delfosse, over allegations of sexual violence including the rape of minors.
Lille prosecutor Samuel Finielz announced on Friday, August 28, that the investigation covers alleged offenses against seven victims who were aged between five and 18 at the time of the events.
The allegations include indecent assault and the rape of minors under 15, with some acts allegedly committed by a person holding authority over the victims. According to prosecutors, the alleged incidents took place between 1990 and 2002 during holiday camps organized by Delfosse across four French departments: Nord, Ardèche, Val-de-Marne, and Hautes-Alpes.
A total of 26 people have filed criminal complaints against the former clergyman. However, prosecutors confirmed that complaints from 19 other victims have been or must be dismissed because the statute of limitations has expired.
Investigating magistrate to determine formal charges
Delfosse was questioned as a free suspect in June 2026 due to his health condition. An investigating magistrate must now determine whether to place him under formal investigation, the official stage before potential criminal charges in France.
Under French criminal law, a judicial investigation is a formal inquiry conducted by an examining judge, known as a juge d'instruction. The magistrate compiles evidence independently to decide if a suspect should face trial, while strict statutory time limits often restrict prosecutions for historical offenses.
Previous conviction and church dismissal
Delfosse was previously convicted in 2007 for rapes and sexual assaults against minors committed in the 1980s while serving as a chaplain in Roubaix. At that time, he received a six-month prison sentence alongside a five-year suspended sentence, after an inquiry identified 37 victims but found only two cases fell within the statute of limitations.
Delfosse worked as a priest in Nord and subsequently in Val-de-Marne between 1964 and 2000. Nord is a department in northern France centered around the regional capital of Lille, near Roubaix, while Val-de-Marne lies in the Paris region, Ardèche in the south, and Hautes-Alpes in the southeastern alpine region.
Following internal ecclesiastical proceedings, canonical justice tribunals stripped Delfosse of his priesthood in September 2025. Canonical law governs the administration and disciplinary matters of the Roman Catholic Church, including the defrocking of clergy members.
