Former PRG minister Jean-Michel Baylet arrived Tuesday, October 19 at the headquarters of the Paris judicial police to be confronted with the woman who accuses him of having raped her from the age of 12, which he disputes, have noted AFP journalists.
Read alsoEx-Minister Jean-Michel Baylet heard on charges of rape that he disputes
At the beginning of the afternoon, Jean-Michel Baylet and his accuser, Nathalie Collin, arrived at the brigade for the protection of minors located in the 17th arrondissement.
According to a source familiar with the matter, they must confront their versions in front of the investigators.
Now in her fifties, Nathalie Collin, daughter of former senator PRG Yvon Collin, accuses the boss of the Dépêche du Midi of having raped her between her 12 and 14 years old.
His father is a longtime old friend of Jean-Michel Baylet but they are now estranged.
Former minister and current press boss
Following Nathalie Collin's denunciation, the Paris prosecutor's office opened on June 9, 2020 an investigation for “
rape
” and “
sexual assault
” on minors under 15 years old. The former president of the Left Radicals Party (PRG) was heard in open hearing at the end of February by the police. Me Jean-Yves Dupeux, who was assisting him then, had indicated that he had "
formally contested these false allegations
".
The former president of the Radical Left Party (1996-2016) and former senator has participated four times in left governments, under the presidency of François Mitterrand and then François Hollande. Secretary of State then Minister between 1984 and 1993, he again became Minister in February 2016, this time for Regional Planning, Rural Affairs and Territorial Communities. Jean-Michel Baylet is also one of the owners and president of the La Dépêche du Midi press group, and is vice-president of the General Information Press Alliance. Current mayor of Valence d'Agen (Tarn-et-Garonne), he was re-elected to the departmental council of Tarn-et-Garonne but decided to leave the presidency of the department.
The Paris prosecutor's office has made a habit of systematically opening inquiries into accusations of sexual violence against minors, even if the facts are apparently prescribed, in order to verify the facts and to look for possible other non-prescribed assaults.