chargement...
For years, a French teacher who traveled extensively managed to maintain a positive reputation among neighbors and acquaintances. Jacques Leveugle, long seen as a devoted and generous figure in the Moroccan town of Khenifra, is now under formal investigation in France for allegedly raping and sexually assaulting 89 boys over more than five decades across several countries.
In Khenifra’s Lassiri neighborhood, Leveugle was widely known as «Monsieur Jacques». The Associated Press (AP), which spoke with a dozen people who directly knew him, reported on Thursday that residents described him as discreet, helpful, and deeply involved with children. He offered free language lessons, organized school outings, funded small community projects, and sometimes gave cash to families in need. Many said he helped people find jobs, bought houses or vehicles for some residents, and even assisted others in emigrating to Europe.
Neighbors pointed to his modest, unfinished house by the river, surrounded by fig trees, recalling how he rode his bicycle through the neighborhood and spent much of his time with teenage boys aged 13 to 15. While his closeness to children occasionally raised quiet questions about his limited interaction with adults, he was largely viewed as a devoted teacher who loved spending time with youngsters.
Khenifra residents in shock
The revelations have left residents in shock and shame. Speaking anonymously for fear of harassment, several said they felt «insulted» and «humiliated» by the allegations. One neighbor told AP that the news had shaken his trust so deeply that he refused to let his five-year-old son sleep at his brother’s house. Residents also recalled an incident in which Leveugle took children to the nearby lake of Aguelmam Azegza and encouraged them to swim naked, presenting it as healthy behavior.
According to Moroccan officials familiar with the case, Leveugle first arrived in Morocco in 1955, during the final years of the French protectorate, and later held Moroccan residency, AP reports. No formal complaints had been filed against him in the kingdom prior to his arrest in 2024.
«This case is of exceptional seriousness and naturally provokes deep indignation», Najat Anwar, president of the Moroccan child protection association Don’t Touch my Child, told AP, adding that the organization is ready to join the case as a civil party «if Moroccan witnesses or victims come forward». The association launched, Thursday, an appeal for testimony, urging potential Moroccan victims of Leveugle to break their silence and come forward.
French authorities have issued an international appeal for witnesses and are expected to travel to Morocco as part of the investigation.
Leveugle lived in Morocco until his arrest in 2024 and is suspected of abusing more than a dozen boys in the country, with some cases dating back to at least 1974. The investigation was triggered after a relative discovered a 15-volume digital memoir on a USB drive and handed it to authorities. According to Grenoble prosecutor Étienne Manteaux, many of the alleged abuses took place in North Africa.
