A French dance teacher and self-proclaimed hypnotherapist has gone on trial, accused of drugging and sexually assaulting more than a dozen women over a ten-year period while filming the attacks.
Charges and Court Appearance
Cyril Zattara, 47, appeared at a court in the southern city of Aix-en-Provence on Monday. He faces charges of raping 14 women and allegedly filming around 20 women without their knowledge. The trial is being held behind closed doors following a request from a lawyer representing one of the victims, though other alleged victims argued for a public hearing.
Zattara, who has been in detention for five years, has admitted to ten of the rape charges. The case began in 2019 when a 24-year-old woman filed a complaint after a hypnosis session with the self-taught therapist.
Modus Operandi and Evidence
The investigation reveals a disturbing pattern. According to prosecutors, Zattara would slip sleeping pills into his victims' drinks before sexually assaulting them. He often targeted women with whom he was friendly or had intimate relationships.
When the women woke up feeling dazed and sometimes undressed, Zattara would blame their condition on hypnosis or alcohol. However, blood and hair tests confirmed the victims had ingested tranquillisers.
The initial complainant reported waking up after drinking part of a glass of wine, recalling vomiting and being raped. Zattara's DNA was found under her fingernails and in her underwear. Investigators later discovered photos and videos on his computer showing alleged victims in a lethargic state during sexual acts.
Context of a National Reckoning
This trial follows another high-profile case that shocked France in 2024. Dominique Pelicot was found guilty of drugging his wife, Gisele, for nearly a decade and inviting dozens of men to rape her while she was unconscious. He received a 20-year prison sentence, the maximum possible, and did not appeal.
All 50 of Pelicot's co-defendants were also convicted. That trial drew international attention after Gisele Pelicot successfully opposed a closed hearing, inspiring campaigners against sexual violence and spurring a national conversation about rape culture in France.
The evidence in the Pelicot case included horrific homemade videos of assaults filmed in the couple's home in Mazan, Provence, and elsewhere.
Judge Roger Arata is presiding over the Zattara trial in Aix-en-Provence, as France continues to grapple with the severity and hidden nature of such predatory crimes.
