Model agent gets 16 years for rape
He approaches young girls on the street and promises them a modeling career - only to humiliate and sexually exploit them. A Parisian modeling agent used this scam for seven years and has now been sent to prison for a long time. His lawyers speak of an "excessive sentence".
A former model agent has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for raping and sexually assaulting more than a dozen young girls in Paris. The court found that 43-year-old Johan M. had abused the authority conferred on him by his position when committing these acts. The judges also imposed a number of conditions on M. and banned him from working in the fashion world in the future.
M. is said to have initially prescribed a drastic diet for the girls. This was followed by humiliation and bullying and finally sexual assaults. For example, he forced his victims to undergo massages with a slimming cream, which he used as a pretext for sexual touching. He accused the girls of being too "uptight" for the fashion world.
In court, M. stated that there had only been consensual sexual contact, there had never been any coercion. The victims saw it differently. "Finally!" exclaimed one of the 15 or so women, who was a minor at the time of the crime, after the verdict was announced in court. The crimes took place between 2007 and 2014. From 2016, the former model agent had already spent four years in preventive detention. "I am aware of the damage I have caused. I have nothing more to add," M. had said before the judges retired for deliberations.
Lured, isolated and humiliated
His approach had always been the same: The modeling agent, who was well-known in the fashion world, approached girls on the street or other public places, such as at the exit of their school. He promised them a career and claimed to be training them for this purpose. The girls, some as young as 14, were cut off from their family relationships and quickly found themselves "under his influence", as the victims described it on the witness stand. "The burden of shame and guilt has really switched sides," said Méhana Mouhou, the lawyer for six girls who are joint plaintiffs, after the verdict. "This is an incredibly instructive sign for the protection of all young girls in France who dream of fashion and being a model."
M.'s lawyers spoke of an "excessive sentence" that was motivated more by emotion than justice. The convicted man has ten days to lodge an appeal.
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The international community has expressed concern over the lengthy imprisonment of the model agent, viewing it as a strong deterrent against criminality in the fashion industry. Furthermore, it's been suggested that stricter model agency regulations should be implemented globally to prevent similar cases of rape and exploitation.
Source: www.ntv.de
