A self-proclaimed hypnotherapist in France faces trial for allegedly drugging and raping 14 women, filming the assaults over a 10-year period.
AIX-EN-PROVENCE: A French dance teacher and self-proclaimed hypnotherapist went on trial on Monday accused of drugging and sexually abusing women while filming the assaults.
Cyril Zattara, 47, appeared in court behind closed doors in the southern city charged with raping 14 women over 10 years.
He is also accused of filming around 20 women without their knowledge.
Zattara, who has been in detention for five years, has admitted to 10 of the rape charges.
The case began in 2019 when a 24-year-old filed a complaint after a hypnosis session.
The woman said she woke up after drinking part of a glass of wine and recalled vomiting and being raped by the defendant.
His DNA was found under the young woman’s fingernails and in her underwear.
The defendant allegedly slipped sleeping pills into the victims’ drinks before sexually assaulting them.
He often targeted women with whom he was friendly or in intimate relationships, according to the investigation.
When victims woke up dazed and sometimes undressed, Zattara would blame their condition on hypnosis or alcohol.
Blood and hair tests showed the victims had ingested tranquillisers.
Investigators found photos and videos on Zattara’s computer showing alleged victims in a lethargic state.
Judge Roger Arata ordered the trial to be held behind closed doors at a lawyer’s request.
Other victims had argued the trial should be open to the public.
The same judge had ruled in favour of a victim’s choice to waive anonymity in a separate high-profile 2024 trial.
In that case, Dominique Pelicot admitted to drugging his wife for almost a decade and inviting men to rape her.
He was jailed for 20 years.
Outside the court in Zattara’s case, the mother of one civil party understood the closed trial decision.
“They say shame has shifted to the other side, but that’s not always true,” she said.
