French Olympic swimmer Yannick Agnel is facing a trial for alleged rape and sexual assault involving his former coach’s 13-year-old daughter, as confirmed by the prosecutor general’s office in Colmar.
The 33-year-old has been ordered by the Colmar appeals court’s investigative chamber to stand trial, given that he was an adult when the alleged incidents took place. Agnel has a 10-day window to contest this decision at France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation.
Agnel was taken into custody in December 2021. While he acknowledged a relationship with the underage girl, he has vehemently denied any form of coercion.
The reported events trace back to 2016, when the girl was 13 and Agnel was 24, spanning across various locations such as Mulhouse, Rio de Janeiro during the Olympics, Spain, and Thailand, as stated by French judicial authorities.
Having secured two gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics in the 200m freestyle and 4x100m freestyle relay, Agnel retired from professional swimming in 2016.
Since 2021, French law categorizes any sexual engagement with individuals under 15 as rape, carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, in line with regulations in numerous Western countries.