The former archbishop of Paris is being investigated for sexual assault on a vulnerable person

This is yet another case of sexual violence in the Church. This time, the main interested party is none other than the former archbishop of Paris, My Lord Michael Aupetit. The man of 71 years old is the subject of an investigation, opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office in early December, for sexual violence against a vulnerable person placed under judicial guardianship.

A report produced by the diocese of Paris

The investigation was opened following a complaint filed by the diocese of Paris at the end of November. According to Southwestin a press release published on Tuesday, January 3, the latter “he confirmed that he had sent a complaint and specified – as he indicated to the Paris public prosecutor’s office – that he was unable to verify whether the facts in question were proven, or whether they constitute a crime”. “The report – which did not include the qualification of sexual assault – They were made “ so that “all the necessary checks can be carried out by the courts, in line with the protocol signed in 2019 between the diocese and the Paris prosecutor’s office”the diocese also said.

The consent of a vulnerable person

The investigation, conducted by the Brigade for the Repression of Crimes against Persons (BRDP), must in fact ascertain the type of relationship that Monsignor Aupetit had with the woman who is suspected of having sexually assaulted. Considered a vulnerable person under judicial guardianship, the latter’s consent remains to be confirmed due to her mental health. Indeed, “a legal protection measure is put in place when an adult is or becomes vulnerable, i.e. when his decision-making faculties are impaired”.

The Aupetit affair began with an investigation published by Pointin which the media accused the former archbishop of Paris of having had an affair with a woman in 2012. After denying any “romantic” relationship but admitting to having had a “ambiguous behavior, which therefore implies the existence between us of an intimate relationship and sexual relations”Archbishop Aupetit, then in office since 2017, presented his resignation to the Pope in November 2021. “We are absolutely not aware of a complaint, so we cannot give any indication as to it”said Me Jean Reinhart, Michel Aupetit’s lawyer.

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