EDIT from March 30, 2026 at 2:50 p.m.: The trial was postponed to November 9 at the request of the prosecution. The public prosecutor justified its request for postponement by the too late sending of documents by the skipper’s lawyer. The civil parties underlined the difficulty of the complainants in coming to the hearing but said they understood the arguments of the prosecution.
“Sailers, we are waiting for your support”, “a wave of justice for sailing”… These are some of the activist collages which have appeared in recent days at the entrance to the Skippers’ House, in the former submarine base of Lorient (Morbihan). Messages addressed directly to Kevin Escoffier. The Breton skipper appears this Monday before the criminal court of the city of six ports on charges of sexual assault on four women.
The affair broke out in June 2023 with the surprise announcement of the withdrawal of Kevin Escoffier, then skipper of Imoca Holcim-PRBof the round-the-world race The Ocean Race in which he occupied second place in the standings with his crew. The navigator then mentioned “an alleged incident” while the French Sailing Federation had issued a report for “inappropriate behavior” towards a woman.
“He starts feeling one woman, then the other”
An understatement given the young woman’s testimony. Press officer for the crew, she filed a complaint for sexual assault after an evening in a pub during a stopover in Newport (United States), on May 15, 2023. According to her version, the navigator “pressed her breasts with his hands” while she was about to give him a hug. “He begins to feel one buttock, then the other, and his hand begins to go up under my t-shirt,” she said at the Paris criminal court in March 2025, during the defamation lawsuit filed by the sailor against the Chained Duck.
In an article published at the end of October 2023, the satirical newspaper – which was acquitted – asserted that Kevin Escoffier had “admitted the facts”. The skipper was suspended by the federation from all competition for 18 months and had his license withdrawn for five years. But there was a twist in March 2024: the federation canceled these measures due to “a procedural defect. »
In the meantime, tongues have been loosened in the world of ocean racing and several testimonies have added weight to the case of the skipper, rescued at sea by Jean Le Cam during the 2020 edition of the Vendée Globe. Heard by the Lorient public prosecutor’s office, several other women recounted non-consensual touching or attacks by the 45-year-old Breton sailor. Three of them filed a complaint.
He contests “all accusations against him”
This Monday afternoon, Kevin Escoffier will face his four accusers. Contacted, his lawyer Maître Virginie Le Roy did not respond to our requests. In February 2025, while the skipper was being questioned under police custody, she simply indicated to our colleagues to West France that his client contested “all the accusations against him. »
Our file on sexual violence
In support of the victims, the Nous Tous 56 collective is calling for a rally in front of the Lorient court “to denounce and break the silence on the violence which reigns in the world of ocean racing and more broadly in the world of sailing. »
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