Three days to conclude nearly three years of investigations.
Monday morning, Bruno Martini was arrested and placed in police custody at the premises of the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM) in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, as revealed this Wednesday by France Info.
These police officers have had him in the sights since June 2020 and the opening of an investigation against him by the Paris prosecutor's office.
The triggering ?
The complaint filed by a Parisian teenager against the one who was elected at the end of 2021 president of the National Handball League (NHL).
The boy, who was about 13 years old at the time, exchanged a few days earlier on the social network Snapchat with a man whose identity was concealed under the pseudonym "Daddy45ans".
Behind this account hides Bruno Martini, 52 years old today.
A digital correspondence begins between the teenager and the one who is then still manager of PSG handball.
“PSG assures that absolutely no one at the club was aware of Bruno Martini's actions and reminds, if necessary, that his departure is not linked to this affair”, affirms us today the club of the capital, that the ex-player left at the end of 2020.
Read also“We knew he was tortured, but…”: Bruno Martini, the fall of a figure in French handball
The former Barjots goalkeeper, world champion in 1995 and 2001, and his young interlocutor send each other naked photos.
And Bruno Martini ends up offering him to come to his apartment in the 16th arrondissement.
The teenager accepts and sets off.
But on the way, his mother inundates him with messages on his phone.
What ends up making him change his mind, arrived at the bottom of Bruno Martini.
The latter then pays for the return trip by VTC to the east of the capital.
No other known victims at this time.
Facts mentioned by the investigators during the 48 hours of police custody on Monday and Tuesday.
Faced with the police, who searched his apartments in Montpellier and Paris, the ex-handball player claims that he did not know the precise age of the teenager, without being able to completely deny that it was possible that he was a minor.
And if Bruno Martini exchanged with other young people on Snapchat, no other potential victim was identified by the investigators during their investigations.
“These were agreed exchanges, without constraint, and without consideration, underlines his lawyer, Me Elie Dottelonde.
Mr. Martini recognizes the facts, regrets them, and assumes his responsibility.
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The former player accepts, with the agreement of justice, an appearance on prior recognition of guilt (CRPC), a procedure often called "plead-guilty" and designed to unclog the courts and avoid a criminal trial.
His police custody was lifted on Tuesday evening, and he was brought before a public prosecutor on Wednesday morning.
The latter offers him a one-year suspended prison sentence, a 2,500 euro fine and a five-year ban on practicing with minors, which he accepts.
In the early afternoon, a judge validates the sentence and ratifies his conviction.
“The CRPC procedure, accepted by the prosecution, shows that it is not a monster”, continues his advice.
Bruno Martini risked up to five years in prison in this case.
He left the court, free, in the afternoon.