A former French senator has been found guilty of spiking an MP's drink with ecstasy in order to sexually assault her.
Joel Guerriau received a four-year prison sentence - 18 months of which are to be served behind bars - and, according to local media, was ordered to pay Sandrine Josso €5,000 (£4,348) for emotional distress.
Guerriau, now 68, had invited Josso, 50, to his Paris flat in November 2023. He later admitted serving her a drink spiked with MDMA, but maintained it was an accident and denied having any intention of assaulting her.
Shortly after the verdict on Tuesday, Josso said it was a huge relief, AFP reports. Meanwhile, Guerriau's lawyers said he would appeal.
According to court documents quoted by French media, Josso said she had gone to Guerrieau's home three years ago to celebrate his re-election when she started feeling unwell after drinking from a champagne glass.
I had gone to visit a friend and I discovered an aggressor, she said on Monday while giving evidence in the trial.
He looked at me insistently, I'd never seen him that way. I didn't want to show him my weakness, because I was worried that if I told him I wasn't feeling well, he would've forced me to lie down.
Josso recalled managing to leave the flat and, with a colleague's assistance, went to the hospital where a toxicology report confirmed her blood had three times the recreational dose of MDMA.
Guerriau told the court he had been going through a period of depression, claiming he meant to take the drug himself the night before but accidently offered the spiked drink to Josso instead.
I feel sorry for Sandrine, Guerriau told the court in Paris. I am disgusted with myself, with my recklessness and my stupidity.
He added: We don't talk about the effects of these drugs enough... All I want is to speak out on the dangers of these products.
Guerriau, a centre-right senator from the Horizons party, was suspended when the charges against him emerged and resigned last October.
Josso, a current MP for the centre-right MoDem, has become an activist against chemical submission. What I went through is still very painful, she stated, illustrating the psychological impact of her experience.
Josso has joined an association against chemical submission, championed by Caroline Darian, whose father was convicted of drugging his wife and allowing men to assault her for years.
Following the verdict, Josso reflected on her experience, emphasizing that she still faces challenges from the trauma caused by her ordeal.
