Paris: two after-school supervisors put under investigation for sexual assault of minors
Two after-school supervisors were remanded in custody on Friday in Paris, suspected of sexual offences against around twenty children in the 7th arrondissement.
Two supervisors incarcerated following reports in the 7th arrondissement
Two after-school supervisors were placed in provisional detention on Friday 22 May in Paris, put under investigation for sexual offences committed against children attending Saint-Dominique school, in the 7th arrondissement. According to RFI, the judicial investigation opened that same day concerns "offences committed against around twenty children".
The two suspects, aged 52 and 44, were respectively born in Brazil and Cameroon. During hearings before the judge of freedoms and detention, held before the decision to conduct proceedings in camera, the first listened calmly to the charges against him, assisted by an interpreter. He is being prosecuted for "a number of offences" reported by "several victims" of rape or sexual assault on a minor under 15 years of age, the magistrate clarified. The second is put under investigation for "sexual assault offences over several periods" as well as indecent exposure involving children.
Several sources close to the case indicated that the judicial investigation should make it possible to corroborate the multiple reports, which at this stage are based on statements made by the children. One supervisor was placed under the status of assisted witness.
Forty-four children interviewed, thirteen people released
The investigation, which extends to after-school facilities serving three Paris schools — Saint-Dominique, Rapp and La Rochefoucauld — in the same arrondissement, was preceded by interviews with 44 children by the Minors Protection Unit. On Wednesday 20 May, 13 other people had been detained and then released, the prosecution concluding that it did not have "sufficient evidence" against them.
A wave of proceedings in the capital
This case is part of a broader context of child abuse scandals affecting Paris's after-school sector over the past several months. Other proceedings are underway in the capital: "around a hundred investigations concern nursery schools, around twenty concern primary schools, around ten concern crèches", according to the prosecution.
On Wednesday, Paris's Socialist mayor Emmanuel Grégoire had praised an "acceleration of investigations". He had moreover announced at the beginning of April an action plan of 20 million euros dedicated to after-school provision, designated as the "absolute priority" of the beginning of his term.
Source: RFI