The Paris prosecutor’s office announced on Wednesday June 17 that it had appealed the acquittal pronounced Tuesday for the benefit of a Parisian after-school leader who had been prosecuted for harassment and sexual assault on minors.
This was the first case judged since the proliferation of accusations of violence in Parisian extracurriculars: according to a report established last week, since the start of 2026, 132 agents have been suspended in the capital’s schools, including 52 for suspicion of sexual violence.
In its judgment, the criminal court considered that the behavior of the accused forty-year-old was certainly “inappropriate”, “out of step with the expected positioning in the context of school activities and the age of the students”, but that the investigation “had not demonstrated that it was of a humiliating or degrading nature, nor did it have as its own purpose the deterioration of the students’ living conditions”.
The court also ruled that “if certain parents reported elements suggestive of psychological disorders in their children, the elements in the file did not make it possible to precisely attribute these disorders to the inappropriate behavior of the host, which could more result from the impact given to the facts”.
“Beyond Inappropriate”
“In this case, it seemed that there were a lot of elements which established that the behavior went beyond inappropriate behavior”, reacted the lawyer for five families, Me Julie Chalumeau, according to which “this decision arouses great incomprehension”.
The mother of one of the children, Pénélope Ponchelet, for her part said she was “outraged and angry”, denouncing “the systemic cowardice of institutions and courts of guilty indulgence”.
During the hearing on May 5, which took place behind closed doors, an 18-month suspended prison sentence was requested by the prosecutor against the host.
According to the prosecution, Nicolas G. had the habit of nicknamed certain children “the most beautiful”, “my heart”, “the delicious one”, “my love baby”, “my kitten” or “my treasure” by imposing long hugs on them, telling them stories of rape, taking one of the students on his knees or touching the chest of another. “I would give you kisses everywhere if I could,” he said to one of the little girls, as the children had reported to their parents.
The magistrates considered that these actions did not “constitute a criminal offense”, noting that the municipal agent should nevertheless have “been the subject of calls to order” and “training”.
The agent was suspended in October 2024 and placed under judicial supervision.
