The technical director of the France gymnastics center in Marseille, Vincent Pateau, was sentenced on Thursday May 4 to six months in prison suspended for moral harassment against underage sportswomen he had trained within this high-level structure. .
Relaxed for the facts alleged against him by two of the five complainants, Mr. Pateau, 44, was also sentenced to a fine of 10,000 euros by the Marseille Criminal Court. At the end of March, the prosecution had requested a suspended sentence of fifteen months in prison. On the other hand, no ban on exercising his profession has been pronounced.
Bullying, remarks about weight, mockery, rude or hurtful remarks: in the complaints they had filed against Mr. Pateau, the five sportswomen, all minors at the time of the facts they denounced, had described what they were experiencing as an “atmosphere of terror”, in the words of one woman in court.
“The word of the girls was heard, even if it is disappointing for some, but we knew that the file was complicated”, commented after the deliberation Anne-Laure Rousset, the plaintiffs’ lawyer: “I am happy for the girls, who were afraid of being told they had lied. »
“There is inevitably a disappointment linked to the fact that there is not a ban on practicing, but the first desire was for things to evolve, and that is the feeling that everyone had during the debates” , continued Me Rousset. “Everyone realized that the culture of abuse in sport should not continue. »
World gymnastics is shaken
“The methods implemented to support high-level athletes in surpassing themselves must know the limits of the law”, had launched the prosecutor in her indictment, welcoming “that these training methods are entering the courtroom “.
Thursday, neither Mr. Pateau nor his lawyer wished to speak after the deliberation. They have ten days to appeal the court’s decision.
In this same case, a former coach of the France pole in Marseille, Pierre Ettel, will also be tried for moral harassment, on November 7, after the complaint of one of the five gymnasts who targeted Mr. Pateau.
In recent years, world gymnastics has been shaken by numerous cases, the most resounding of which broke out around Larry Nassar, ex-doctor of the American team, convicted in 2018 of having sexually assaulted at least 265 gymnasts. After this extraordinary affair, gymnasts from all over the world spoke out to denounce abusive practices, exposing a toxic culture within their discipline.
