Prosecutors in Lorient sought a two-year suspended prison sentence for sailor Kevin Escoffier on Monday, 9 November, together with a treatment requirement and a two-year ban on practising his profession. The request is a significant new step in the trial, but it is not the court’s verdict.
According to franceinfo, the prosecution’s request concerns alleged sexual assaults against two women during evenings at stopovers in the United States and Brazil. Escoffier faces proceedings over alleged touching involving four women between 2017 and 2023, but the prosecutor sought convictions in only two cases.
In one allegation concerning Australia, the prosecutor considered that the court lacked territorial jurisdiction under the law and noted that no formal complaint had been filed. In another, involving a German sailor who alleges that Escoffier touched her breasts in a Lorient bar in April 2018, the prosecutor requested acquittal because of doubts over the date.
That distinction matters. The prosecution has not presented the four allegations as a single undifferentiated case, and its sentencing request does not establish guilt or impose a professional ban. It sets out the criminal response sought for two specific allegations, including a restriction that would directly affect Escoffier’s work if the court adopted it.
The supplied reporting does not include the defence’s response or a date for judgment. The next consequential development will be the court’s ruling on the allegations it retains and on any penalty it decides to impose.
Sources
- franceinfo Tous titres · Source date: 2026-11-09
- Libération Actualités · Source date: 2026-11-09
Independent editorial content. WUA is not affiliated with any political party. 2026-11-09