Evil retired teacher accused of raping 89 children across 5 continents | World | News

French authorities have issued a rare international appeal for witnesses after a 79-year-old retired teacher was charged with the aggravated rape and sexual assault of 89 children spanning more than five decades and five continents.

Prosecutors in Grenoble revealed that the suspect, Jacques Leveugle, has been held in custody since 2024 and formally placed under investigation for crimes dating back to the late 1960s.

Leveugle is accused of sexually abusing boys aged 13 to 17 between 1967 and 2022 while working in a range of roles – including as a teacher, tutor and youth instructor – in countries across Europe, Africa, Asia, and beyond.

The French police have circulated an appeal for victims and witnesses to come forward, saying many of those identified so far were recorded only by nicknames or vague references in the suspect’s own documents, making it difficult to trace them.

Grenoble prosecutor Étienne Manteaux said authorities were seeking to establish additional links to possible victims before concluding the investigation later this year. 

Leveugle’s alleged offending came to light after investigators were handed a 15-volume “digital memoir” found on a USB drive by a relative. The writings reportedly contained detailed accounts of his crimes and enabled police to identify dozens of victims. 

Leveugle, who was born in the Alpine town of Annecy, appeared “cultured and charismatic” and groomed children, the prosecutor said.

In an unusual step under French law, prosecutors have published the suspect’s name in the hope that others who were abused or who witnessed offences may now contact authorities.

The investigation has revealed that Leveugle worked with young people in countries including Germany, Switzerland, Morocco, Algeria, Niger, the Philippines, India, Colombia and the French territory of New Caledonia.

Authorities have stressed that the probe is a race against time, given the suspect’s advanced age and the need to identify as many potential victims as possible for possible legal action.

Manteaux said: “If victims want to come forward, they should do that now because we need to close this investigation in 2026 in order to hold a trial in a reasonable time frame.”