An Olympic legend has been charged with the rape and sexual assault of a teenage girl.
French swimmer Yannick Agnel, 33, is accused of having a relationship with the daughter of his former coach, then 13, in 2016.
The prosecutor general’s office in the French city of Colmar confirmed Agnel will stand trial since he was an adult at the time of the alleged acts.
He has 10 days to appeal to France’s top court, the Court of Cassation.
Agnel was first arrested in December 2021 and at the time admitted to a relationship with an underage girl but denied coercion.
His legal representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The girl was 13 and Agnel was 24 at the time of the alleged offences.
According to French judicial officials, the acts allegedly took place at several locations.
These include the French eastern city of Mulhouse, where the swimmer was training, Rio de Janeiro during the Olympics, Spain and Thailand, according to French judicial officials.
Agnel snapped up two gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics in the 200m freestyle and the 4×100m freestyle relay.
He retired four years later in 2016.
In 2021 France passed a historic law, setting the age of consent to 15.
Previously there was no age of consent in France, unlike other EU countries.
While legislation stated having sex with someone under 18 was an offence, there needed to be proof it was non-consensual in order to obtain a conviction of rape.
The change in law classed sex with someone under 15 as rape, punishable by up to 20 years in jail.
L’Équipe newspaper said several swimmers, current and retired, have already been questioned as part of the investigation.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission
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