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Brussels nightclub owner accused of drugging and raping young clients

Carl De Moncharline
11:57 31/03/2022

Carl De Moncharline, a nightclub owner and a major figure in Brussels nightlife scene, has been accused of sexual abuse by multiple women. 

De Moncharline denies all the allegations, Bruzz reports, including using date rape drugs to render women vulnerable before sexually assaulting and raping them. 

De Moncharline has been working in Brussels nightlife for 30 years, known principally today for running the L'Imperial bar and being involved in the capital’s party scene.

Accusations came to light through an RTBF investigation into date rape drugs in which several witnesses mentioned De Moncharline, the owner of Wood, a techno club in Bois de la Cambre that closed in 2016 due to noise pollution. 

The witnesses said they were drugged there and then assaulted or raped. “I was 17-years-old at the time,” one victim recalled. “I went out to this club very often.”

The victim, identified only as 23-year-old Valentine, says she knew De Moncharline and that she and her friends were allowed into the nightclub for free.

“That night he’s behind the bar in his usual spot. I'm dancing for a while and then at some point he offers me a beer that's not straight from the bar,” Valentine said. 

“From that moment on, everything becomes a blur. He starts kissing me, touching my upper body. I am mentally aware of it, but physically I have no control. I am paralysed. I am limp and frozen. I am fully aware of what is happening, I don't agree with it, I want it to stop, but I am unable to utter a word or take any physical action to make it stop.”

De Moncharline denies allegations

RTBF was not able to speak with De Moncharline about the accusations, but did speak with his lawyer, who described his client as “very shocked” by the charges being levelled by young women.

“What these witnesses state does not fit my client's profile at all. He has been active in the Brussels nightlife scene for 30 years. He has set up five top establishments where he has never had a problem. My client has a clean criminal record,” the lawyer said.

“He has never had to answer for such an offence. He was heard in the context of a complaint and that was rejected.”

According to RTBF, not all complaints against De Moncharline were registered.

De Moncharline announced via Facebook and LinkedIn that he has filed a complaint for defamation in response to the allegations.

“It's a pack of lies for the thousands of people who have known me for over 30 years, day and night, in five different big clubs and a dozen big events,” De Moncharline wrote. “There are many who can testify to my good behaviour.”

De Moncharline suggested that the fact that he has often had to turn away people from his clubs or kick people out for excessive alcohol use or drug use has “caused a lot of enmity”.

“This sensationalist report, in order to raise problems that I condemn and that may arise in our society, is a deliberately incriminating treatment of information, anonymous and without any proof. Please believe that this is far from being who I am. I have filed a complaint for defamation.”

 

Written by Helen Lyons