France investigates Frenchman for abusing 89 children in North Africa

Jacques Leveugle, a 79-year-old French national, is under formal investigation in France for sexually abusing 89 children across multiple countries over more than five decades, according to prosecutors in Grenoble. The crimes came to light when a family member discovered Leveugle’s detailed digital memoirs on a USB drive and reported them to authorities. Leveugle spent much of his life in North Africa and was known in the Moroccan city of Khenifra as a language teacher and community contributor. His arrest occurred in 2024.

The case has prompted soul-searching in Morocco and Algeria, where the alleged abuse occurred, and has renewed attention on child exploitation in regions where advocates say abuse persists but remains severely underreported.

Jacques Leveugle spent decades in the Moroccan city of Khenifra presenting himself as a devoted language teacher, a helpful neighbor, and a man of modest means. He spoke Arabic and Berber fluently. He opened a library for children. He gave money to those in need.

On Wednesday, French prosecutors announced he was under formal investigation for sexually abusing 89 children across multiple countries over more than five decades—crimes documented in digital memoirs he kept with meticulous detail.

The investigation began when a family member discovered the digital memoirs on a USB drive and reported them to authorities. Leveugle was arrested in 2024. Investigators examining 15 volumes of digital records identified 89 victims, all aged 13 to 17, according to Etienne Manteaux, the prosecutor in Grenoble.

The documented abuses in Morocco span at least to 1974. Leveugle had worked as a language teacher in three Algerian schools during the 1960s and 1970s; there, authorities believe, he abused at least two minors. French authorities suspect additional victims exist and have issued an international appeal for witnesses.

Leveugle also confessed to suffocating his mother while she was in the terminal stages of cancer and to killing his 92-year-old aunt, according to Manteaux.

The Man They Knew

The case has prompted deep distress in both Morocco and Algeria. In Khenifra, residents said they feel shame and humiliation since learning of the allegations. Many are considering moving, according to interviews with residents who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of harassment or retaliation.

“Monsieur Jacques,” as he was known, had cultivated a reputation as a man of extraordinary generosity. He helped residents find employment, distributed cash to families, and financed community projects in a city that has long struggled with unemployment. Residents described him as discreet, helpful, and someone who loved spending time with children.

Leveugle was born in the 1940s in Annecy, France, and first arrived in Morocco in 1955, according to a Moroccan official. He arrived in the final years of the French protectorate and attended school in the capital. By the early 2000s, he had moved to the Lassiri neighborhood of Khenifra, a working-class district. He lived in a single-story, unfinished house surrounded by fig trees near a river.

Neighbors said Leveugle frequently spent time with teenage boys aged 13 to 15. He worked as a private tutor, offered free language classes, and organized school outings. His close friendships with adolescent boys, combined with limited adult companionship, occasionally prompted residents’ questions—yet his generosity and community standing appear to have deflected suspicion.

Grooming Through Generosity

One incident illustrates his pattern. Neighbors said Leveugle once took children to a regional lake, Agelmam Agezga, and instructed them to swim naked, beginning with himself and claiming it was healthy. In Moroccan and broader Islamic tradition, men are not permitted to be nude in front of others.

The revelation that such a respected figure had committed systematic abuse has shocked both nations. “This case is of exceptional gravity and naturally provokes deep indignation,” said Najat Anwar, president of the Moroccan child protection organization Don’t Touch my Child. “We are prepared to join the case as a civil party if Moroccan witnesses or victims come forward.”

French investigators are expected to travel to Morocco to gather evidence. Moroccan authorities have not made public statements about the investigation.

Anwar said the case reflects a pattern observed globally. “Perpetrators often present themselves through educational or cultural activities, cultivate a respectable image, and exploit social or cultural prestige to gain trust,” she said. “Then they target children in emotionally or socially vulnerable situations.”

Voices from His Past

Among Leveugle’s former students in Algeria, the news prompted shock. Ali Bouchemla, who studied French with Leveugle in the late 1960s at a school in northern Algeria, said he was “stunned” when he learned of the allegations. He remembered Leveugle as a “devoted and very good teacher” who never aroused suspicion.

Another former student, Lahlou Aliouate, similarly described a dedicated educator with professional behavior.

The case has renewed attention on child exploitation in Morocco and Algeria, where child-protection advocates say abuse persists but remains severely underreported due to shame, fear, and limited resources for investigation.