Benjamin Dessange, youngest son of world-famous French hairstylist Jacques Dessange, who died in 2020 and was due to stand trial in Paris for aggravated sexual harassmentdied at the age of 57, according to corroborating sources. The news of his death, passed on to AFP by a source close to the case, was confirmed on Thursday by the Dessange International group. “The death occurred the day before yesterday, on the 5th”. said the group, which was keen to point out that Benjamin Dessange “had left the company in 2018 and was no longer part of it, either as a shareholder or as an employee.”. Dessange International had no further comment.

A former employee of the Dessange group, Annabel Talon, had filed a complaint against the heir of the hairdresser to the stars, in 2014 and again in 2015. She accused him of malicious phone calls, intentional violence and sexual harassment, recounting how from 2011, the man who had become president of Dessange International had adopted a “sexual approach” to his work. “an inappropriate attitude” towards her. This continued for two years, until she left the Group under a contractual severance agreement.

Inappropriate behavior and abuse of authority

Benjamin Dessange was indicted in October 2022. On April 8, an examining magistrate ordered a trial before the criminal court, based in particular on some fifty text messages sent to her by Benjamin Dessange, some of which were of a sexual nature, and testimonies from her personal and professional entourage of inappropriate behavior towards her. “We dispute the facts. This person has been pursuing Benjamin Dessange with his hatred for fifteen years.”his lawyer, Richard Koplewicz, told AFP in April.

The judge had retained the aggravating circumstance of abuse of authority, due to the hierarchical relationship and the right of supervision Benjamin Dessange had over the complainant’s work. Summoned in 2018, Benjamin Dessange denied the facts and asserted that he had a consensual sexual relationship with the complainant, which the latter contests. “She had a lot of contact with my father and my father created a vendetta”Benjamin Dessange, who had been in contact with his father since 2008, said during his interrogation in 2022. notoriously difficult relations with his father. An unsubstantiated conspiracy theory, according to the investigating magistrate.