Nicolas Noguier, the former president of Refuge, an association for helping young LGBT+ people facing difficult family situations, was released from police custody this Thursday evening in Montpellier. Noguier was indicted by an investigating judge for rape, moral harassment, sexual harassment, concealed work, and sexual assault.
The alleged rape was thought to have been committed in 2014, while the acts of harassment allegedly took place between 2014 and the end of 2021. He was placed under judicial supervision following his interrogation, according to Le Parisien.
His lawyers, Sahand Saber and Stéphane Fernandez, appear confident the charges against him rest on insufficient proof.
“Nicolas Noguier was indicted but released under judicial supervision, proof that the charges against him are insufficient. We are confident for the rest of the procedure,” they said.
Several local media, including Midi Libre and France Bleu, had reported earlier that Noguier had been taken into police custody in Montpellier on Wednesday afternoon, as part of an investigation opened in February 2021 for acts of moral and sexual harassment reported by former volunteers of the association and former young LGBT+ individuals who went to Noguier for help.
The case against Noguier surfaced in December 2020, when Mediapart revealed that dozens of employees and volunteers decided to leave the Le Refuge foundation. All then said they were “crushed”, “used” or “humiliated” by the management of the Refuge, and denounced the organization, according to media reports. Two months later, a report by an independent firm, BCG, confirmed the “failing” management of the foundation that aimed to help young LGBT people.
Noguier resigned last February from his position at the aid organization.
