The navigator Kevin Escoffier will be the subject of a report from the French Sailing Federation (FFV) on Monday to the sexual violence unit of the Ministry of Sports for events that occurred in May in the United States, we learned from concurring sources.
“This report to the signal sport cell (which deals almost exclusively with acts of sexual violence, editor’s note) will be filed today”, Monday, Jean-Luc Denéchau, president, told AFP. of the FFV, confirming information from the daily Le Télégramme.
The ministry confirmed to AFP that the president of the FFV had informed them that the report to the cell would be made on Monday. “I read the team’s statement overnight from Saturday to Sunday and then what Kevin Escoffier had put on his Instagram (…). I made a number of phone calls which led me to believe that what was presented as an alleged incident was inappropriate behavior he allegedly exhibited towards a woman at a party” in Newport, during a stopover of The Ocean Race, explained Mr. Denéchau. “The facts that have been reported to me justify that I make a report to the Ministry of Sports and very likely launch a disciplinary procedure within the federation,” he added.
If he did not wish to give more details on the testimonies collected at this stage, the president of the FFV considered that “if the facts were to be proven, these are behaviors that cannot be tolerated”. According to a source close to the case, it would be “a sexual assault”.
On Saturday, the Swiss crew PRB-Holcim announced that they would start the 6th leg of The Ocean Race, a crewed round-the-world race with a stopover, without their leader Kevin Escoffier.
On his Instagram account, the Malouin had said on Saturday in a message deleted since withdrawing from the race “following an alleged incident during the stopover in Newport”, from May 10 to 21. After stopping in Newport, the sailors of The Ocean Race, including Kevin Escoffier, headed for Aarhus (Denmark), where they arrived on May 29.
PRB-Holcim, with Escoffier as skipper, had been the leader of the general classification since the start in January, before giving up first place during the 5th stage to the American crew 11th Hour. Escoffier, 43, won The Ocean Race in 2017-18 and also has the Transat Jacques-Vabre 2005 on his list.
