A priest accused of aggravated rape placed in police custody in Lyon

A religious man, ousted from the management of a large Catholic school group in Lyon and accused of aggravated rape, was placed in police custody, a police source said on Monday, confirming information from the daily Le Monde. In September, a young adult filed a complaint against Father Jean-Bernard Plessy, 63, for aggravated rape and sexual assault. A few days earlier, he had been dismissed from his position at the head of the Carthusian institution.

The diocese had mentioned a “relationship” with “an adult student placed under its authority”, and then clarified that it was “obvious” to it that the young woman was “a victim of this priest”. The Lyon public prosecutor's office opened a criminal investigation following the report from the diocese. Father Plessy, for his part, “firmly contested the facts with which he is accused” through his lawyer.

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“Canonical investigation”

According to the complainant's lawyer, Nadia Debbache, she would have suffered "aggravated rape" and "aggravated sexual assault due to the functions of authority exercised by Father Plessy and the elements of vulnerability relating to the victim", specifying that the "violence denounced persisted for several months, until July 2026".

In July, the priest, who had headed the establishment for 27 years, wrote to the students' parents, announcing his decision to resign. Also the subject of a “canonical investigation” by the archbishopric, he was ordained priest of the diocese of Saint-Étienne in 1991. The Catholic education school group under Carthusian contract, a real institution in Lyon, has 4,000 students, ranging from nursery to post-baccalaureate.