Old man faces jail for ‘surprise rape’ after he 'fooled women into sex in a dark room'

France:   A 68-year-old man fooled women into having sex with him in a darkened bedroom by posing as a young male model online.

The man, using the name 'Anthony LaRoche', promised the women 50 Shades of Grey-style bedroom antics with a handsome man through e-mails and texts.

He now faces charges of 'surprise rape' after a woman - 'Sylvie' - complained about the subterfuge, reports Le Parisien.

Sylvie, who was lured to the man's apartment in Nice, France, said he suggested a darkened room and a blindfold for a kinky thrill.

When she arrived and covered her eyes she got into bed with the man, who she thought was handsome, with brown hair and blue eyes.

She was stunned when she flicked the light on after sex to see a much older man.

She said: "He was a balding man of about 65, who was quite wrinkly and wore glasses - I was absolutely disgusted."

When she told police they found her testimony matched three other women's.

When they raided his flat they discovered he had tried the same subterfuge on 342 women across the country.

A second victim was quoted as saying: "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."

After he was arrested he told police that he had the woman's consent to the sex and couldn't see what he'd done wrong.

The man, who has already served a prison sentence for tax fraud, added that had she asked the truth about the picture, which he found on Google, he would have come clean.

"Some women have a crazy side to them and like men who surprise them," he reportedly said.

His lawyer, Laurent Poumarède, told the French newspaper: "I wonder if these women didn't knowingly close their eyes to the truth in more ways than one."

Officers are now looking for other victims, and he faces a charge of 'rape by surprise' (known as viols par surprise in French).