Child sexual abuse: 675 people remanded in custody following massive re-examination of complaints after Lyhanna case
The results of the re-examination of tens of thousands of reports of sexual assaults against children reveal hundreds of imprisonments and more than 1,300 investigations opened.
Child sexual abuse: 675 people remanded in custody following massive re-examination of complaints after Lyhanna case
The French Justice Minister disclosed on 15 July the results of the vast exercise of re-examining complaints for sexual assaults committed against minors, triggered following the murder of Lyhanna, 11 years old, in the Gers.
Questioned in the National Assembly, Gérald Darmanin indicated that 69,626 old cases had been reviewed. To this were added 15,000 new statements, bringing the total to 85,047 reports recorded by prosecutors. A thousand cases were deemed urgent and should be resolved shortly.
On X, the Justice Minister specified that 1,350 judicial investigations had been opened for sexual offences against minors, a fourfold increase compared to the usual rate. Since the beginning of June, 675 individuals have been placed in pre-trial detention.
The statistics show an uneven distribution: a little over a third of proceedings are criminal matters, the remainder are misdemeanours. In the vast majority of cases, the perpetrators were found. The Minister noted that nine times out of ten, they had never been convicted before, and that in 75 per cent of situations, they belonged to the victim's immediate circle.
The government now intends to have the abolition of the statute of limitations for crimes against children adopted, in partnership with the Health Minister. This measure would target in particular the two-thirds of victims who are now adults.
The Lyhanna case had revealed dysfunctions: the main suspect had already been the subject of accusations of sexual offences against children without the authorities questioning him. The Minister had then summoned senior magistrates and demanded that all complaints concerning children be re-examined before mid-July.
Source: BFMTV
Source: Google News LU FR