Lyhanna case: inspection report highlights judicial and police failures
The inspection mission delivered a report on Monday 22 June detailing dysfunction in the handling of the sexual assault complaint against minors involving Jérôme Barella.
Lyhanna case: inspection report highlights judicial and police failures
The IGJ and IGGN services presented on Monday 22 June a preliminary document to the head of government concerning errors in the Lyhanna case. The internal inquiry concerns the handling of a report of sexual abuse of a ten-year-old child, filed in August 2025 by the relative of Rosa (identity modified), naming Jérôme Barella.
The analysis reveals shortcomings at every stage. When the case was transferred from Toulouse to Auch, no telephone or digital exchange took place between the two entities. The dispatch was made by standard post, without flagging the severity or priority of the matter. The man's record, correctly noted by the military at Plaisance-du-Touch, was ignored when the case was taken up again.
In the Gers department, the proceedings were not handled with the required speed. The inspectors note a series of delays and an absence of oversight, both from the Auch court and the Condom company. The child's mother had to contact the prosecution herself to emphasise the urgency of the situation and the risk of reoffending.
An order to deprive someone of liberty was requested, but the investigation was neither properly directed nor supervised by the juvenile magistrate nor by the superiors of the inquiry officer responsible at the Lectoure police station. No victim support structure was called upon to assist the child and her relatives, although this option was available.
The head of the IGJ, Stéphane Noël, stated that these structural failures could have been prevented. The commission recommends in particular the systematic use of digital tools for criminal case transfers and the adaptation of geographical jurisdiction rules to take account of the victim's place of residence. An interim document is scheduled for 10 July and the final version for 5 September.
Source: franceinfo
Source: France Info