The founder of a website used by Dominique Pelicot to invite dozens of men to rape his wife after drugging her was indicted Thursday in France on multiple charges, including some related to that case.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 7.5 million euros, or about $7.7 million.
The site’s founder, Isaac Steidl, 44, was released from prison on Thursday. The investigating judge’s office said he was placed under “judicial supervision,” had to pay a bail of 100,000 euros and was banned from leaving France.
The website he created in 2003, called coco.fr, became famous in France during the trial of Mr. Pelicot and 50 other men, all of whom were found guilty last month, mainly of raping the ex-wife of Mr. Pelicot, Gisèle, while she was in deep sleep.
One of the charges against Mr. Steidl is related to Pelicot’s charge of operating an Internet platform for illegal gang activity. Among the other charges he faces include drug trafficking, being involved in the possession and distribution of child pornography, drug abuse and money laundering.
Mr. Steidl “strongly denies his accusations, and undertakes to fully cooperate to demonstrate his lack of guilt for the alleged crimes,” his lawyer, Julien Zanatta, told Agence France-Presse.
During the trial, Mr. Pelicot said he had met all of the men on a private internet site called “Without His Knowledge.” Most of the defendants deny that they ever saw that forum.
They agreed, however, to meet him on site, and then communicated over text messages or Skype to arrange a visit to Pelicot’s home in the south of France, where they met him raping his ex-wife while she was. he was in a very drunken state.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement that the website is involved in more than 23,000 cases in France alone from 2021 to 2024, involving 480 victims. These cases include allegations of sexual abuse of children, burglary, prostitution, rape, drug trafficking, fraud and murder, police and prosecutors said in a statement.
The site was closed in June after an 18-month investigation that spanned across Europe. Police froze bank accounts in Hungary, Lithuania, Germany and the Netherlands and seized 5 million euros, a Paris prosecutor said at the time.
The house of Mr. Steidl, who is in Bulgaria, was searched at the request of French judges during the operation, the prosecutor’s office said.
Mr. Steidl grew up in the Var province of southern France. In April 2023, the French government accepted his request to renounce his French citizenship. Last June, after his site was closed, a judge in Bulgaria was interviewed, with French law enforcement officials present.
French non-profit organizations fighting child abuse, homophobia and illegal online content have been raising the alarm about the site for years. The petition to have it closed has been signed by more than 20,000 people.
“The cocoa place was a den of prostitutes,” said Sophie Antoine, who works on legal issues and represents the French organization Act Against the Prostitution of Children.
Mrs. Antoine said his organization often used it to show childcare professionals “how transparent the ‘darknet’ really is.” Registration was free and only required name, age and zip code. Once you’re logged in, other users can contact you to chat and make suggestions — but once you’re logged out, those conversations are immediately deleted, he said.
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