A public wanted notice was issued on February 10, 2026, by the Gendarmerie nationale [French national police force], accompanied by images of Jacques Leveugle, the 79-year-old man charged in 2024 with aggravated rape and sexual assault of 89 minors. GENDARMERIE NATIONALE/AFP
At least 89 teenage victims of rape or sexual assault identified across nine countries; USB drives that contained "Memoirs" recounting an unthinkable criminal journey that spanned more than five decades and five continents; the murders of two members of the man's family. On Tuesday, February 10, the Grenoble prosecutor's office made public an extraordinary case at a press conference: that of a sexual predator and drifter, now 79 years old, who has been charged and remanded in custody since February 2024.
After two years of investigations, Grenoble prosecutor Etienne Manteaux decided to reveal the suspect's identity – Jacques Leveugle, born in 1946 – in an effort to launch a wide-ranging appeal for witnesses in order to identify further victims before closing the investigation (even though some of the acts, committed prior to 1993, may be subject to the statute of limitations). To date, nearly half of the identified victims – around 40 – have been identified and questioned by investigators.
