Murder of Lyhanna, 11, as repeat offender freed despite accusations of sexual violence against child
The body of Lyhanna, 11, was discovered in an abandoned silo in the Gers. The main suspect, Jérôme Barella, 31, was at liberty despite an accusation of raping a 10-year-old child. The case triggers a national crisis and a review of tens of thousands of files.
Murder of Lyhanna, 11, as repeat offender freed despite accusations of sexual violence against child
On 4 June, Lyhanna left her school in Fleurance, in south-west France. She would never return home. After intensive searches, investigators found her body in a disused grain silo near Puycasquier, in the Gers department. According to Aktuálně.cz, the case provokes an unprecedented crisis of confidence in the French judicial system.
Police quickly arrested Jérôme Barella, 31, father of a classmate of the victim. Surveillance cameras had filmed him in the company of the girl on the day of her disappearance. He was charged with the abduction and murder of a minor.
Public outrage erupted when judicial records revealed the man's background. According to RTL radio, Barella was the subject of several reports for sexual violence against children. Most serious was that in 2025, he had been accused of raping a ten-year-old girl. Yet for months, neither police nor courts had heard from him, apprehended him or tried him. The services passed the file back and forth until tragedy struck.
Family history added an even darker dimension. In 2013, Barella's father had himself been accused of raping a child. That investigation had then vanished and the file had been closed. Police are now hastily reopening both cases to examine family connections.
The tragedy descended into massive demonstrations. More than six thousand people marched through the streets of Fleurance and Puycasquier. What began as white marches transformed into protests against the public authorities' failure. On placards, alongside the inscription "Justice for Lyhanna", a damning question: "How many more children?"
Under pressure, the government gave way. The Minister of Justice publicly acknowledged the system's failure and ordered an exceptional review of tens of thousands of unsolved files concerning sexual violence against minors.
For the opposition and experts, this announcement remains an empty gesture. France has certainly toughened its legislation following the Dominique Pelicot case, in which a man had drugged his wife for years to have her raped by dozens of strangers. But on the ground, little has changed. According to data from the Council of Europe, France chronically underfunds its justice system. The country suffers from a severe shortage of judges and prosecutors, courts are saturated and investigations drag on for years.
Source: Aktuálně.cz