Lyhanna murder: new rape complaint against Jérôme B., a pyjama party at the heart of accusations
A family man from Tarn-et-Garonne has filed a rape complaint against Jérôme B., the principal suspect in the disappearance of Lyhanna, 11 years old. The alleged facts date back to a pyjama party in late August 2025.
Lyhanna case: accusations against Jérôme B. mount after new rape complaint
According to cnews.fr, a new rape complaint was filed on Wednesday 3 June at the Auch gendarmerie by the father of an 11-year-old child, targeting Jérôme B., 41 years old, already held in provisional detention since Monday 1 June in connection with the investigation into the alleged abduction of Lyhanna, 11 years old, in Fleurance, in the Gers.
The alleged facts are said to have occurred during a pyjama party organised in late August 2025 at Jérôme B.'s home in Montestruc-sur-Gers, a small locality situated not far from Fleurance. Three or four young girls are said to have been present that evening.
The father speaks out: "I was told about hands on the buttocks"
Nicolas, the father of the new complainant, recounted the circumstances in which the alleged facts came to his attention. "My daughter, who is placed by the child protection service of the Tarn-et-Garonne departmental council, reported the facts in February 2026 in passing during a conversation she had with another child in connection with another matter," he stated. "I had only been informed of this party very late. At first, my daughter spoke to me of touching, of hands on the buttocks when she came out of the water."
The anger of this father is palpable in the face of what he perceives as institutional inaction. "I do not understand why we have to wait for a young girl to disappear for things to be taken seriously!", he declared. He emphasises that his daughter expressly asked him to file a complaint in light of recent events: "Given what is happening now, my daughter asked me to go and file a complaint and that is what I am doing."
Previous reports left without prompt follow-up
This new complaint comes in a context where reports against Jérôme B. had already multiplied before Lyhanna's disappearance on 29 May. A mother had reported alleged "repeated" rapes of her daughter to the Plaisance-du-Touch gendarmerie in Haute-Garonne as early as 25 August 2025. The case subsequently passed from office to office before reaching the Fleurance gendarmerie in January 2026. Jérôme B. had never been questioned in connection with this investigation, according to his lawyers.
The prosecutor of the Republic in Toulouse, David Charmatz, provided details on the handling of this case. "An interview of the minor was conducted by the family protection house within the paediatric reception unit for children in danger at Purpan in Toulouse, in accordance with protocol. Those close to her were also interviewed. Medical-legal and psychological examinations were carried out," he stated. He added that the case had been forwarded to the Auch prosecutor's office "in late October-early November, because it is the only one with jurisdiction on the grounds of where the alleged offences took place and the residence of their perpetrator". The period covered for these supposed rapes spans 2024 and 2025.
A concerning profile dating back to 2021
Investigators are gradually seeing a profile emerge of a suspect whose problematic behaviour towards minors has been documented for several years. In 2021, Jérôme B. had been the subject of an initial report whilst working as a maintenance worker at the secondary school in Lectoure, in the Gers. He is said to have exchanged messages with secondary school girls, behaviour described as "inappropriate" by the head of the establishment, who then ended his contract.
In Montestruc-sur-Gers, he was regularly seen in the company of young secondary school girls in the years that followed. Lyhanna herself had mentioned "tickles" from Jérôme B. at that same pyjama party in the summer of 2025. Her parents had then distanced themselves from this man.
29 May: Lyhanna's last appearance
On Friday 29 May, Jérôme B. was the last person to see Lyhanna alive. The 11-year-old girl got into his vehicle at around 3 p.m., before disappearing. Since then, she has still not been found.
Having remained silent before investigators and the examining magistrate, Jérôme B. was committed for trial and remanded in custody on Monday 1 June for "abduction and unlawful confinement of a minor under 15 years of age". This father of two children, one of whom is a friend of Lyhanna's, is the principal suspect in this case which is drawing national attention.
The new complainant in the pyjama party case is expected to be heard shortly by investigators from the investigative unit.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)