Olympic Champion Yannick Agnel Denies ‘Coercion’ in Rape Case, Admits to Relationship With Underage Girl

Photo Courtesy: David Farr

Olympic Champion Yannick Agnel Denies ‘Coercion’ in Rape Case

Olympic swimming gold medalist Yannick Agnel has admitted to having a relationship with an underage girl, but denied the relationship being coercion, according to The Association Press.

Agnel was arrested in Paris and faced rape charges on Saturday. The case was sent to Mulhouse in Eastern France.

According to the AP, prosecutor Edwige Roux-Morizot said Agnel “recognizes the materiality of the alleged facts” but said he did not have “the feeling that there was coercion.”

“If the facts constitute rape or sexual assault, it is because there is a significant age difference,” Roux-Morizot told the AP.

Agnel was 24 when the alleged rape took place. According to reports, the girl was 13 and the events took place in 2016 in several countries

According to French law, an adult cannot have consensual sex with somebody younger than 15 years old. According to the report, the French parliament adopted legislation that characterizes sex with a child under the age of 15 as rape and punishable by up to 20 years in jail earlier this year, bringing its penal code closer in line with many other western nations.

French media has said the investigation was launched after a swimmer who trained with Yannick Agnel in Mulhouse from 2014-16 filed a lawsuit. L’Équipe newspaper said several swimmers, current and retired, have already been questioned as part of the investigation.

According to the French news outlets, the investigation stems from a complaint from a swimmer who trained with Agnel in Mulhouse between 2014 and 2016. L’Équipe said several swimmers, current and former, have been questioned as part of the investigation.

Yannick Agnel won Olympic gold in the 200 freestyle and on the 400 freestyle relay in London in 2012.

He was a consultant for French TV during the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.

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