The Besançon Court of Appeal on Tuesday November 30 confirmed the conviction of a renowned theater teacher to four years' imprisonment, two of which were suspended, for harassment, assault and sexual blackmail on ten of his students whom he had them rehearse naked.
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A definitive ban on practicing as a teacher and director was also pronounced against Guillaume Dujardin, 50 years old, former professor of theater at the University of Franche-Comté.
The sentence pronounced Tuesday, in accordance with the requisitions, is identical to the first instance decision, rendered in October 2020.
"The hold of a teacher over his students"
In total, eight former students and one former student of the Diploma of Scientific and Technical University Studies (DEUST) of theater in Besançon had filed a civil suit for acts committed between 2014 and 2017. The victims all denounced "
the influence
»From this charismatic and renowned teacher, who offered them«
work
»
sessions
outside of school hours, often in the evening and sometimes alone at home, to reveal the great actresses he said he saw in them.
The “
theatrical engine
” of these sessions, as he calls it, was often the nudity and sexuality of the students whom he asked to rehearse naked.
The young women, some of whom have sunk psychologically, described at the helm the demands of this "
mentor
" who asked them to "
hit
", "
kiss
", "
taste
", "
touch their private parts
" or to “
simulate orgasms and rape
”.
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For their lawyer, Me Anne Lassalle, he used "
the hold of a teacher on his students
" to "
realize his fantasies
".
The professor, known in France for having created the Festival de caves in Besançon, disputed all the facts during the hearing before the court of appeal last September.
His lawyer, Me Mikaël Le Denmat, for his part stressed that the complainants were indeed “
students
”, adults responsible for their actions, and not
underage
“
students
”.
