Overview
- The trial opened in Strasbourg on Monday, June 1, and is scheduled to run about two weeks with procedural questions first and witness testimony to follow.
- Prosecutors say 29 women accuse 37‑year‑old Pierre Garitte of touching intimate or internal areas during consultations and charged him with eight counts of rape and 21 counts of sexual assault.
- Garitte is under judicial supervision and forbidden to practice; his lawyer says the acts had no sexual character while police records show he first claimed to use 'pressure points' before acknowledging the gestures.
- Twenty‑three of the complainants became civil parties shortly before the trial and most asked for public hearings so the case could resonate with other potential victims, while only one plaintiff sought a partial closed session.
- The trial highlights that internal touching is formally banned in French osteopathy and joins a wave of prosecutions that are putting professional boundaries and patient trust under renewed scrutiny.