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Verdict delivered in drug-facilitated assault case
A former French senator has been sentenced to four years in prison, with 18 months to be served behind bars, for spiking a fellow lawmaker's drink with MDMA in an attempt to sexually assault her.
Background of the incident
Joël Guerriau, 68, invited Sandrine Josso, 50, to his Paris apartment in November 2023. He later admitted to serving her a drink laced with ecstasy but claimed it was accidental, denying any intent to assault her.
Josso, an MP for the centrist MoDem party, testified that she visited Guerriau's home to celebrate his re-election when she began feeling unwell after drinking champagne. She described feeling targeted by his behavior, stating, "I had gone to visit a friend and I discovered an aggressor."
Courtroom testimony and evidence
Josso recalled leaving the apartment and seeking medical help, where a toxicology report confirmed her blood contained three times the recreational dose of MDMA. She emphasized the psychological toll, saying, "Psychological trauma feels like being frozen in time... I jump at the slightest thing."
Guerriau, a former senator from the centre-right Horizons party, told the court he had been struggling with depression and had intended to take the drug himself the night before. He claimed he mistakenly offered the spiked drink to Josso the following evening.
"I feel sorry for Sandrine. I am disgusted with myself, with my recklessness and my stupidity."
Joël Guerriau, during his trial
When questioned about his internet searches on ecstasy and GHB, Guerriau said he had no memory of them, attributing them to fleeting thoughts while traveling.
Legal consequences and reactions
On Tuesday, a Paris court found Guerriau guilty and ordered him to pay Josso €5,000 (£4,350) in damages for emotional distress. Josso called the sentence a "huge relief."
Guerriau's lawyers announced he would appeal the verdict. Meanwhile, Josso has become a vocal advocate against drug-facilitated sexual assault, joining an association founded by Caroline Darian, whose father was convicted in 2024 of orchestrating a decade-long campaign of abuse against his wife.
Broader implications
Josso's case has drawn attention to the issue of "chemical submission," where victims are drugged to facilitate assault. She attended the trial of Dominique Pelicot, who was found guilty of drugging his wife and facilitating her rape by multiple men over ten years. Darian and her brother were present at Guerriau's trial in a show of solidarity.
Guerriau, who resigned from the Senate last October following the charges, used his trial to warn about the dangers of recreational drugs, stating, "We don't talk about the effects of these drugs enough."
