French ‘male model’ faces charge of ‘rape by surprise’

A FRENCHMAN masquerading as a 37-year-old “male model” offering women 50 Shades of Grey- type sex dates in the dark is facing “surprise rape” charges after they belatedly discovered he was a short, fat and balding 68-year-old.

A man calling himself Anthony Laroche attracted much female interest on several dating websites after depicting himself as a young, mysterious prince charming with a photo highlighting his smouldering gaze, square jaw and designer stubble.

Adding spice to the proceedings, he proposed a blind date in which the two total strangers had sex in the dark on their first encounter at his flat in Nice, southern France.

One such date known only as Sylvie, 40, told police she fell for the “good-looking man” after coming across his profile on a dating site.

After a steamy text message exchange, he explained he wanted to play a game like in 50 Shades of Grey to make things more exciting.

Once inside his dark flat, she was ordered to don a blindfold and then join “Anthony” in the bedroom. After having sex and despite his reticence to turn on the lights, she flicked the switch to find herself in bed with “a man of around 65 with glasses, balding and all wrinkly”.

“He didn’t correspond at all to the photo. I felt total disgust,” she said.

A second alleged victim known only as Leila had a similar experience.

“After sex he didn’t want me to take off the blindfold. When I insisted, he got angry. I ended up seeing his silhouette in the dark. He was old, pot-bellied with a big nose,” she said.

Police arrested the man, known only as Michel, last month, placing him under formal investigation for “rape by surprise”.

During questioning, he reportedly admitted to having found a photo of a male model on Google as a way of maintaining his anonymity.

Asked whether he had committed rape, he reportedly said: “For me, when she entered the bedroom naked, she was consenting. At that moment, she couldn’t care less what I looked like.”