An official complaint has been filed against Conner Rousseau, the leader of the Flemish social-democratic Vooruit party, by a man in his twenties, the Antwerp Public Prosecutors Office confirmed on Thursday.
Lawyer Jorgen Van Laer filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor of Antwerp in the name of his client, a 26-year-old man.
"My client is the victim of sexual offences," Van Laer told Het Laatste Nieuws. "He has come to the realisation that these are serious incidents and that he had to formally file a complaint about it to the appropriate authorities." The incident reportedly took place in 2021.
The Antwerp Public Prosecutor's Office was already looking into another case reportedly involving Rousseau after a previous report, but this is the first formal complaint, they confirmed to De Morgen. For now, however, the Prosecutor's Office does not want to communicate about the content of the complaint. "It will still have to be read and analysed in terms of content."
Gossip, rumours and lies
Rousseau or his lawyer, Christine Mussche, have not yet been informed by the Public Prosecutor's Office about the contents of the complaint, she told VRT.
Yet the party issued a statement, in which it maintained that this is part of "a deliberate hate and gossip campaign" that has been going on for months and "a new example of a witch hunt," with only one goal: "to destroy Conner and Vooruit."
Rousseau and Vooruit also stated that they regretted the role that some journalists and media play in this. "Certain figures in politics and the media try to damage Rousseau's reputation with gossip, rumours and lies. They deliberately incite people to involve the courts to give their slander more weight. The rumours are not new."
The party is also looking into whether legal steps can be taken "to call those responsible to order," Rousseau said. "I stand firm. I will continue to fight." On Wednesday, when asked about the case upon entering the Flemish parliament, Rousseau spoke about "ridiculous gossip" and "a bunch of nonsense."
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Previously, two reports of possible inappropriate behaviour had already been made, but both times by third parties.
First, the Antwerp Public Prosecutor's Office first received a letter from a mother, who expressed concerns about how Rousseau had allegedly behaved towards her son. The authorities are now looking into whether criminal offences were actually committed.
Around the same time, the Public Prosecutor of West Flanders received a report from a journalist about possible inappropriate behaviour by Rousseau towards a 17-year-old man. Rousseau was questioned about this but the investigation was dismissed without consequence, because there were "no offences," according to the Prosecutor's Office.
