French porn site owner arrested over rape, pimping allegations

The "Jacquie et Michel" website bills itself as a hub for "amateur" porn videos and has been the target of abuse claims by women who say they have suffered violence on set.

Owner Michel Piron and his wife were taken into custody "over alleged pimping, complicity in rape and complicity in sexual assault between 2009 and 2015," said Nicolas Cellupica, a lawyer for the company that owns the website.

Paris prosecutors confirmed the couple and three others were arrested. 

Police opened an investigation into the website in July 2020 after feminist groups said actresses complained of being subjected to non-consensual "out of the ordinary and painful" sexual acts. 

Last month, representatives of Jacquie et Michel and France's other major porn site Dorcel were grilled by senators over practices in the industry after dozens of women came forward with abuse stories. 

Last October, four French porn actors were charged with rape for the first time, over videos available for streaming on the "French Bukkake" website.

Feminists in France and elsewhere have been campaigning to lift the taboo over violence in an industry in which women have long been portrayed as consenting to such acts.

In the US, porn star Ron Jeremy is due to stand trial for the rape or sexual assault of 21 women and girls, although in March a Los Angeles judge said he must first be psychiatrically assessed.

(AFP)