Elysee Ade: appeal trial of the "Villette guru" for abuse
Elysee Ade, sentenced to 30 months in prison of which 12 in custody in 2022 for abuse of weakness, appears on Tuesday on appeal in Paris. The self-proclaimed leader of the "Warriors of Light" contests all the charges against him.
Appeal for abuse of weakness against more than twenty followers
The appeal trial of the "Villette guru" opens this Monday 28 September at the Paris courthouse. According to BFM TV, Elysee Ade appears again to answer accusations of abuse of weakness brought by approximately twenty victims identified by the justice system, of whom only four have been constituted as civil parties.
At first instance in 2022, Elysee Ade had been sentenced to 30 months imprisonment, of which 12 in custody, to be served under electronic monitoring. He categorically denies all charges against him and maintains that the group of "Warriors of Light" is not a cult and that its members follow him freely.
An atypical profile of the co-founder
Former followers describe instead a psychological control that permeated all aspects of their daily life. Elysee Ade began with studies in physics and mathematics, followed by specialisation in video games and computer science. He taught free kung-fu classes in the gardens of Villette Park in the 19th arrondissement of Paris.
From 2003 onwards, without any recognisable professional training, he presented himself as a therapist, offering individual sessions at 50 euros. It was during this period that he founded the "Warriors of Light", bringing together approximately twenty people around him.
Contested practices within the group
Elysee Ade taught his followers courses mixing philosophy and esotericism during "awakening circles", where conspiracy theories about air poisoning circulated. He also preached the idea that one must transcend one's individual ego to serve a collective purpose: to restore world peace.
He created an exclusively female sub-group called the FOX (standing for "Female Orgasm Expert"), to whom he taught "courses of enjoyment". He claimed that female orgasm could ensure the salvation of the world. During these sessions, he allegedly taught approximately fifteen women to reach the "eighth orgasmic gate", sometimes by masturbating them himself using a sex toy.
Within this restricted group, Elysee Ade was suspected of strictly controlling the lifestyle and thoughts of these women. He monitored their weight with "weight trackers" and required them to remain below 40 kg.
Leaving the group and persecution
For several years, no follower contested this rhetoric or these practices. Members who questioned Elysee Ade's words received brutal treatment from the others. Matthieu, one of the four civil parties, was the first to report the guru's actions in the summer of 2012, after leaving the "Warriors of Light". Once the departure was authorised by Elysee Ade, Matthieu received a barrage of threats and insults by email from all members of the group.
Me Rodolphe Bosselut, lawyer for the civil parties, described this campaign as of "unprecedented violence". Marie Drilhon, vice-president of the Association for the Defence of Families and Individuals Victims of Cults (UNADFI), explained the dynamic: "In a cultic group, it is binary: you are in or out. If you are out, if you leave, you are a traitor. There is a risk in knowing you, hence the ostracism."
Opening of an official inquiry
Three years after Matthieu's report, in 2015, the public prosecutor's office opened an inquiry for "fraudulent abuse of a state of ignorance or weakness". Elysee Ade was placed under judicial supervision and referred to court for sexual assault — a rape tried as a misdemeanour — against one of his former followers during a FOX session.
His trial at first instance took place in October 2022 at the Paris misdemeanour court. Although the justice system had identified approximately twenty victims, only four — two men and two women — had been constituted as civil parties. The others were present at the hearing but were offering their support to their presumed leader, according to Me Bosselut: "It was an army of little robots, the same reactions at the same moment… They were really groupies come to support their living god. The FOX were all dressed the same."
Verdict at first instance and appeal
Following the 2022 trial, during which Elysee Ade had denied any cultic deviation and insisted on the free will of his followers, the court had sentenced him to 30 months imprisonment of which 12 in custody, with electronic monitoring. He had been found guilty of abuse of weakness but acquitted on the charge of sexual assault.
Marie Drilhon explains why the other followers did not file complaints: "In several trials of this type, we often have people who remain followers. You cannot remove someone from a group's influence against their will. These people do not consider themselves as victims and come to defend him."
During the appeal trial, scheduled until 7 October, the civil parties hope that the sentence imposed at first instance will be upheld. "We expect that the complainants who have continued their legal proceedings with great courage are recognised as victims", concludes Marie Drilhon. The lawyer for the defendant, Me Isabelle Zerad, did not respond to requests for comment.
Source: BFM TV