'Highly renowned' Havant photographer jailed for three years after sexually assaulting aspiring actress during photoshoot, making her 'feel physically sick'

Pascal Molliere, 55, was sentenced to three years in prison today after attacking the woman during an hour-long photoshoot in July 2010.

Molliere was found guilty on February 25 by jury, of three counts of sexual assault, following a nine day trial at Southwark Crown Court.

Ahead of the photoshoot, at a Fulham warehouse, Molliere asked the woman, then aged 22, whether she wanted ‘to do fashion or sexy shots’ – encouraging her to bring a variety of outfits.

The photographer locked the studio door, encouraging her to remove more and more clothing and pose for increasingly more revealing photographs, before touching and kissing her genitals and forcefully kissing her on the mouth.

Judge Philip Bartle QC said it was a ‘clear case of abuse of trust’, which had a ‘life-changing’ impact on the victim, who cannot be identified because she is the victim of sexual offences.

He said: ‘This would appear to be a case where Mr Molliere exploited his position as a professional photographer to exploit the vulnerability of a trusting young woman who was also a paying customer to satisfy his sexual desires.

‘(The victim) obviously trusted Mr Molliere and he abused that trust in the appalling way, which even he now describes as abhorrent.’

The court heard the woman moved to the capital to pursue an acting career, borrowing money from her mother to pay for portfolio images to publicise herself.

Prosecutor Tyrone Silcott said Molliere was a ‘highly renowned and highly regarded photographer of celebrities and actors’ who was in ‘a position of power’ which he ‘abused’.

Reading her victim impact statement from the witness box today, the woman said: ‘When I moved to London the dream was to get into theatre, film or television and for that I needed professional head shots.

‘After what happened, I felt so sick at the thought of even trying to go for roles, that somehow it would rear its ugly head and I would just be made out to be another girl willing to do anything to get to the top.

‘It crushed me and I gave up on my dreams.’

After leaving the studio, the woman ‘burst into tears’ and told her boyfriend what happened.

He called Molliere an ‘abhorrent human’, telling him to delete all the photographs and refund the money, or he would contact the police.

The victim said she was inspired to report the photographer to police in 2019 after the #MeToo movement gained momentum.

‘I have nightmares where my skin crawls and feel physically sick,’ she said.

‘After it all happened, I felt sick, disgusted with myself.

‘For all these years I have felt guilty and ashamed that I must have done something to make him think it was what I wanted.’

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During the trial, Molliere denied all counts against him, claiming the incident ‘absolutely’ did not happen and the woman left his studio seeming ‘elated’.

He admitted his guilt in a pre-sentence report, describing his actions as ‘abhorrent’ but saying he acted ‘spontaneously’.

Molliere, involved with sustainable food business StreetCube after closing his photography business, was also handed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

He is from working as a photographer without police permission.