Bruno Martini, ex-president of the National Handball League, remained silent after the minor was convicted for bribery

In the turmoil, Bruno Martini offers his own version of the facts. On January 25, the man who has led the National Handball League since 2021 was sentenced by a Paris court to a one-year suspended sentence, a €2,500 tort fine and a five-year ban from engaging in professional or voluntary activity. It includes habitual contact with minors due to “the corruption of a minor over the age of 15, the acquisition and possession of an image of a minor presenting a pornographic character”. In a long interview published in the newspaper Set On Tuesday, March 21, the former goalkeeper quietly came out: “Coldly speaking, what do people remember? A 13-year-old juvenile for corruption, possession of child pornography and pleading guilty.” “Isn’t that the truth?“reboots journalist Bernard Lions, the author of the interview.”It is undisputed that the boy is 13 years old.“, Martini admits.”But I didn’t know that. This is the first point. Then the police conducted a two and a half year investigation into the footage. On January 23, he came to look for my house in Paris and my old house in Hérault, where my ex-wife and daughter live. Police recovered computers, phones, USB keys there for ten years… And they found nothing. Clearly. I… (pause) I’m not a pedophile. I want to say this as a reason. But it’s true. Cold or calculating, I don’t know how. Also, the images of my conviction were found on the boy’s smartphone. I repeat: I thought you were a young adult.“

Bruno Martini then hinted that he had traumas from his past: “When it comes to incest, by nature, I can’t stand the suffering of children in person or on television. Also from my personal history. I’ve been through complex things.“Without saying more:”not related to the event“It justifies itself.”My experiences make me feel the pain of children more. Whether we’re talking about incest or another pain. Those who thrive in an unstructured environment can suffer from this. This can explain certain behaviors later on. Don’t excuse them.“

“I had the worst times of my life in terms of depression in 2019-2020.“, continues Bruno Martini.”Covid locked me in even more. While I was in prison, I lived alone in Paris. Taking a pseudonym, I entered a social network and registered on all existing dating sites. Nothing made sense anymore. I could have been involved in violence, alcohol or drugs. (…) For me, sex was an excuse. It’s not a certainty. I did things that weren’t me. Although I am heterosexual, I have had homosexual experiences.“The double world champion insisted he was not a sexual predator interested in minors:”If it were me, I’d go to TikTok, where teenagers go and pedophiles go, as one cop from the morality police explained to me. Not on Snapchat, where there are many adults. Towards the end of this period (May-June 2020) the boy contacted me there, on Snapchat. I didn’t go looking for him.“

For the facts for which he was convicted, Bruno Martini assures that he did not know that he was speaking to a 13-year-old teenager: “We exchanged nude photos where she showed me parts of her face, not all of it. The forensic police officer admitted that he appeared as a young adult in the photos.“The former leader was therefore stunned when he learned the age of his interlocutor:”I was stunned to learn that what I thought was a young adult was actually a 13-year-old boy. Then I was embarrassed. Too ashamed. (…) I will have to live with this guilt and shame for causing this to my family. It will stay with me, it will stay with me. This sense of guilt led me to this guilt defense, which is social suicide. I could have physically committed suicide. After all, I don’t know which one is the best. What is certain is that my life ended on January 23, 2023.“

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