An Egyptian man has been convicted for 12 sexual assaults committed in the French cities of Nice and Cagnes-sur-Mer between September 2024 and January 2025, including against eight minors. Despite the conviction and a long history of such offenses, he will receive no prison sentence, unless he reoffends. After five years, he will also be allowed to work with children again.
At the trial of 46-year-old Arnaud Y. in the Nice Criminal Court, the courtroom was packed with his victims and their parents, with most of the victims aged 11, 13, 14, and 16 years old.
The man was born in Cairo, Egypt, and is known to the police as a foot fetishist and a serial offender, with a criminal record that features 12 convictions for similar offenses, as well as six prison sentences.
He is known as a “sexual assault nomad,” wandering to different parts of France to molest and sexually assault young girls, but his favorite “hunting ground” is the French Riviera, according to media outlet Nice Matin. This “hunting ground” is rich with his main target, young girls in the summer who are spending their time on the beaches.
One of his main tactics is to pose as a foot reflexologist in order to massage women’s feet without raising as much suspicion.
Now, he is on trial for his actions in Nice, but he is also known to be active in Cagnes-sur-Mar.
Parts of the hearing were closed due to the number of minors who were sexually assaulted, and a video of the man sexually assaulting one of his victims was played for the court.
“This will help us understand how this gentleman operates,” said the defendant’s counsel, before the audience and press were removed from the courtroom.
Arnaud Y. is accused of accosting people passing by, often minors, and asking them to take off their shoes. He then examines them, using the opportunity to “caress the arches of the feet.”
The man admitted to the charges during the case. A psychiatrist examined the patient and stated he exhibited “schizoid behavior with perverse tendencies.”
After many of his victims testified, he was ordered to serve three years in prison with a suspended sentence. If he offends again, he will be given an automatic three-year prison sentence, but he will not have to serve any time in prison if he keeps a clean record. He will also have 10 years of social and judicial supervision.
“And if he doesn’t comply, three years in prison,” stated prosecutor Maître Jennifer Salles.
Arnaud Y. is banned from working with children and from residing in the Alpes-Maritimes region for five years. After five years, he can start working with children again.
“It is a really serious profile, a serious pathology. All his convictions were for sexual assault, and it just got worse and worse. He really had to be stopped from doing any more harm,” notes the lawyer who represented two victims: one 13 years old, the other 17 when they were sexually assaulted.
“At 13, my first little victim understood the sexual nature of what was happening to her. She read a text in court, with great courage; she was very strong,” stated Salles.
“The second one couldn’t come. She’s an adult now, and this assault was very hard on her. A few days later, she attempted suicide,” she added.