Le Figaro Bordeaux
He is a husband, father of two children, and he was chief of staff to the mayor of the town of Bègles, in Gironde, until the affair was revealed.
Jérémy Cohen was surfing on an adult website in August 2023, when he started chatting with a young woman making alluring propositions to him.
Only problem: behind the screen and this profile on coco.gg are in reality two young men, minors, who promise him a sexual encounter.
“
They tell her that she is an adult and send her photos that correspond to an adult woman
,” describes her lawyer, Maître Gaessy Gros.
A story that would have remained morally reprehensible if the fictitious person with whom this chief of staff was flirting had not ended up sending him: “
I lied, I'm 16 years old.
» According to his lawyer, who revealed his conversations to Le
Figaro
, Jérémy Cohen then stopped responding to him.
But the two teenagers insist, writing to him: “
It’s not nice to let go of something.
Rest assured, my parents agree.
» Faced with her insistence, embarrassed and suddenly worried about his political functions and his public image, again according to his lawyer, the forty-year-old then decides to meet her “
to discuss and clarify the situation
”.
A move into action which has now led to him being prosecuted by the Bordeaux public prosecutor's office and summoned by a judicial police officer, on June 26, for "
recourse to the prostitution of minors
".
So, you wanted to fuck a minor?
(sic) We know who you are, where you live, we know your wife's name
The two attackers of Jérémy Cohen
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Ambush
When he arrives at Mussonville Park, in Bègles, to attend the scheduled meeting, one sunny August day, Jérémy Cohen is not, however, awaited by a teenage girl, but by two barely older associates, specifies Le
Figaro
Maître Gros, confirming information from
South West
.
The two individuals assaulted him and filmed him shouting: “
So, you wanted to fuck a minor?
(sic)
.”
Then, they take him to the nearest ATM and extort 100 euros from him.
Fully aware of the political nature of Jérémy Cohen's employment, his two attackers returned to the charge several weeks later.
“
We know who you are, where you live, where you work and we know the name of your wife
,” the two young thieves threaten to fuel their blackmail.
And Jérémy Cohen gives in by paying an additional 500 euros for their silence.
Victim or offender?
While the two individuals who increased the number of victims around Bordeaux ended up being arrested, Jérémy Cohen then agreed to file a complaint.
Found guilty by the Bordeaux children's court on Tuesday, the two teenagers were jointly ordered to pay him 600 euros for his financial damage and 1,500 euros for his moral damage.
However, whether a minor girl is fictitious or not, the facts revealed by this investigation are punishable by a fine and a definitive or temporary ban on exercising her civic, civil and family duties - if the intention of Jérémy Cohen is characterized.
They therefore justify the appropriateness of the proceedings initiated against the latter on the criminal level, according to the Bordeaux public prosecutor's office.
The lawyer for the former chief of staff of Bègles town hall intends to plead for acquittal.
Contacted, the Bègles town hall declined to comment.
The City nevertheless specifies that Jérémy Cohen was dismissed on November 18, the day after the facts were revealed, on the grounds that these legal proceedings were incompatible with his duties.