Senator Joël Guériot, a member of the center-right group Les Indépendants, was remanded in custody in Paris on Thursday on suspicion of drugging a lawmaker with the intention of sexually assaulting him, a source close to the case told AFP, nightly news .ro.

“We are far from the defamatory interpretation that can be made from the first reports in the press,” Rémy-Pierre Dry, Guerrio’s lawyer, told AFP.

Prosecutors in Paris confirmed that Senator Herriot had been remanded in custody on charges of “injecting a person, without their knowledge, with a substance that may affect their judgment or control over their actions with the intent of committing rape or sexual violence.” The incident allegedly happened on Tuesday evening, and the victim, a woman, filed a complaint.

Several sources close to the case confirmed to AFP that the woman is an MP, but prosecutors declined to comment.

Herrio’s lawyer said that he was “outraged that elements of the investigation are getting into the press.” “Either the prosecutor is responsible for this, and I am again outraged by this, or the prosecutor has nothing to do with this and therefore must identify the perpetrator of this violation and investigate.

“Regarding the essence of the case, I will not give any information, not only because I am obliged to observe the secrecy of the investigation, but especially out of respect for my client and the whistleblower, whose name, to my surprise, was not mentioned. disclosed, unlike my client,” added Mr. Dry.

The victim became ill after drinking on Tuesday evening at the Paris residence of the 66-year-old senator, with whom he did not have an intimate relationship, the prosecutor general confirmed. The samples taken revealed the presence of ecstasy, and later the woman filed a complaint.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Herrio was questioned and then detained by investigators of the 3rd Judicial Police District as part of an open felony investigation. This procedure means that he is not obliged to demand the removal of his parliamentary immunity. .

Prosecutors and a union source said the senator was detained Thursday morning, and two sources close to the case said the senator was detained Wednesday night.

The RMC radio station reported that searches were conducted in the senator’s office, as well as in his residence, where investigators found ecstasy, a fact confirmed by the attorney general.

A banker by profession, Joel Guerrio has been elected to the upper house since 2011, and he is the Secretary of the Senate and Vice-President of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces. In recent months, he has appeared several times with former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.