A senior individual in France has been identified by a prosecutor for allegedly sexually assaulting and raping 89 minors across a span exceeding five decades. In an effort to gather information and reach out to potential victims in a disturbing case that transcends multiple countries, Grenoble prosecutor Étienne Manteaux disclosed that the accused, Jacques Leveugle, was placed under formal investigation in February 2024 for aggravated rape and sexual assault of minors. He has been in custody since April 2025 awaiting trial. The case revolves around writings that investigators claim were authored by the suspect himself, discovered in a digital “memoir” stored on a USB drive by a family member and subsequently handed over to authorities.
According to the prosecutors, these writings, comprising 15 volumes, helped identify 89 alleged victims, boys aged between 13 and 17 at the time of the purported assaults, dating back to 1967 up to 2022. Manteaux decided to reveal the man’s name to encourage other potential victims to step forward, although it is uncommon to publicly name individuals under investigation in France. In a press conference, Manteaux stated, “This name must be known because the goal is to allow possible victims to come forward.”
Authorities have established a hotline for individuals who suspect they may have been victims or possess relevant information to reach out. Despite initial hopes of identifying all alleged victims without a public plea, investigators encountered challenges due to incomplete identities in the documents, hindering efforts to locate individuals decades later. Manteaux expressed their initial optimism in internally identifying all victims, only to realize they faced significant obstacles.
This development arises amidst ongoing shockwaves following the Dominique Pelicot case in France, a harrowing instance of sexual violence where a husband was found guilty of drugging his wife and orchestrating her rape by numerous men over an extended period.
Following the press conference, Manteaux stressed the urgency of the situation during an interview on RTL radio, citing the advanced age of the suspect and the complexities of tracing victims over a span of 55 years. Investigators revealed that the alleged assaults took place both in France and abroad, with mentions of countries including Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria, Niger, the Philippines, India, Colombia, and New Caledonia, where the accused reportedly worked as an educator. Manteaux also disclosed that the suspect admitted to two separate familial killings, triggering a parallel investigation.
The prosecutors allege that he suffocated his mother, who was in the final stages of cancer, and confessed to a similar act involving his 92-year-old aunt under comparable circumstances. Regarding the aunt, Manteaux mentioned that the suspect claimed, “because he had to return to the Cévennes and she begged him not to leave, he also chose to put her to death.”
