Vincent Pateau (France pole of Marseille) sentenced to six months in prison suspended

“I don’t believe in relaxation” said Vincent Pateau in our columns last week. This Thursday, a little over a month after the first instance hearing at the Marseille Criminal Court, the technical director of the France gymnastics center in Marseille was sentenced to a six-month suspended prison sentence and a fine. of 10,000 euros.

The coach was tried for acts of aggravated moral har***ment, between 2015 and 2021, against several former young residents, who ended up filing a complaint. The court convicted him of three of them and acquitted him of the other two.

At the hearing, the prosecution had requested fifteen months in prison suspended and a ban on practicing his profession. This last condition was not retained by the court.

The entourage of the victims, two of whom are still minors today, said to themselves ” relieved “ by this judgment. “The voice of the girls was heard, even if it is disappointing for some, but we knew that the file was complicated, also reacted their lawyer, Me Anne-Laure Rousset, to AFP at the exit of the room. Everyone realized that the culture of abuse in sport should not continue. » A new hearing has been scheduled for May 2024 regarding civil interests.

Contacted, Vincent Pateau refused to speak for the moment. His lawyer, Me Jérôme Veyrat-Girard, did not respond. The parties have ten days to decide on a possible appeal.