Two women running an association linked to the medieval world were indicted in mid-January in Tulle (Corrèze).
They are accused of aggravated rape and aggravated sexual assault on minors over 15 years old, all against a backdrop of sectarian drift, the prosecution said.
Following a report from the Interministerial Mission for Vigilance and the Fight against Sectarian Abuses (Miviludes), investigations were carried out against “La Gente Estrange”.
This association focused on the medieval world offers on its website battles in armor or folkloric outfits, shows and crafts (leather work, tanning, jewelry creations).
Two active members of the association, aged around thirty and forty, are suspected of having exercised a “phenomenon of control over the victims, implemented in particular to collect money”, according to the prosecution.
Recruitment in schools for an association
The events would have taken place between 2017 and 2022 in the small town of Saint-Jal, in the north of the department, specifies in its Thursday edition the regional daily La Montagne, which revealed the information.
These two women “organized recruitment of young people, girls and boys, some minors and other young adults, particularly in schools”, with a “fragile profile, often in existential quest”.
Some had “an appetite for the Gothic or fantastical universe,” according to the prosecution.
Three victims of rape and sexual assault were discovered at this stage of the investigation.
These are minors aged over 15.
One of the two suspects was placed in pre-trial detention.
His partner was the subject of a judicial review.