The Pontoise criminal court is judging, this May 15, a fifty-year-old accused of hitting his children with a riding crop. He admits to slaps.
Abdel is 54 years old, looks severe and is stunned. He never imagined being accused of violence against his children, but he is not surprised that the initial accuser was his ex-wife, a “cynical and evil being”, he says, for which he has no a look, her trembling on a bench in the last row. He warns straight away: it was she who planned everything to harm him.
The judge – sole – who presides over this hearing begins a long summary of the facts and the interrogations, which run over a fairly extended period, she underlines, and affects three children, including the eldest, a teenager in distress who “will very badly,” testifies the administrator to thisand who is probably engaged, at this very moment, in the sale of narcotics in the cities of Marseille.
The procedure begins on July 13, 2022, when the defendant’s ex-spouse is interviewed because Abdel filed a complaint for non-representation of children. While she talks about her eldest son Walid with whom the relationship is “very complicated”, she talks about the violence he allegedly suffered from his father. She provides photos in which her son shows injuries, and mentions an episode, which occurred on December 16, 2021, during which the father allegedly broke the son’s finger in rage.
Walid denied it, but added that he took slaps – which he considered normal – when he did stupid things. The wounds ? A school fight. We recommend a psychological expertise which will note: Walid’s strong reactivity, aggressiveness and increase in power, behavioral and conduct disorders (he suffers from diagnosed ADHD), speech of massive denial and lies. The psychologist recommends immediate treatment.
“My dad doesn’t punish, he hits”
Called to react, Abdel denies the facts denounced by his ex-wife, but admits the slaps (“my wife used them too”). Photos ? “It was an altercation he had when he was in Brittany at my sister’s house, he was hit when leaving school by other 3rd grade students. Everything was engineered between Madam and my sister. »
Adil, 9 years old, was interviewed on October 12, 2022. He told the police officer: “My dad doesn’t punish, he hits. He slaps hard, he hits with the crop, when someone accidentally drops something. » The judge asks Abdel: “Why does he say that?
— He doesn’t live with me, he lives with my mother.
— What you are implying is that it was madame who told the children to say that you are hitting them with the riding crop. He also says that you hit him with a riding crop because he stole an eraser from school. He also said: ‘He took me out of the shower tied with a strap on the bed, got on top of me and hit me all over my body with the riding crop.’
— There was a contentious divorce with my wife, that never happened.
— A child can lie, we agree, but your nine-year-old child is precise, on several distinct scenes. Little Adil also says that it was his brother Walid who was hit the most, and that’s why he is like that today. And when asked if his sister was also hit, he said: ‘Yes, everyone.’
“Violence on a child’s behavior is harmful
The little girl is questioned during the procedure. “Do you remember what he hit your brother with too?
— Yes, a wooden spoon. » To the defendant: “Is that true, sir?
— Non. »
In the procedure: Let us mention that the little girl cries and closes up.
—Are you happy?
—Not at the moment. »
The judge to the defendant: “So?
— …
—What should we deduce from your silence, Sir?
– I’m shocked. I recognize the spankings, the slaps, but not everything else.
— Do you know what consequences violence has on children?
– Yes and no.
— Violence against a child’s behavior is harmful, even if it is, as you say, slaps, slaps. »
The little girl’s expert report says that “the psychological impact hindered her psycho-affective development. »
“A big one who is going into a spin and two small ones who are not going to bevery good »
The ad hoc administrator comes forward: Walid, constantly on the run, poses big problems. The other two are in detention. “Very impacted by their experiences, they say as little as possible. » During the hearing before the children’s judge, hearing his father’s lawyer refute the violence, Adil spontaneously stood up to say: “yes, the whippings are true! » She says she did not notice or hear any pressure from the mother. His lawyer is saddened: “We have a big one who is going into a tailspin and two little ones who are not doing very well. » He says that when he sees them, the big one hits the little ones. “It’s terrible to instill in children the normality of taking hits. » He asks for the symbolic euro.
The prosecutor detaches each syllable from his indictment: “Sir, you are in charge of protecting the people who are supposed to be most dear to you, and despite everything you find yourself at this hearing when you are accused of having committed intolerable facts. That children can be so precise about acts of violence makes me think that it is the truth that comes out of the mouths of these children. » He asks for nine months suspended prison sentence as well as parental training.
“The whippings cis no ! »
The defense lawyer said: “I’m going to plead as I think!” I am not going to plead for an acquittal because the slaps and spankings are recognized, however he denies having used a whip. » He claims to have a recording in which we hear Adil being abused by his mother, she mentions it not to place the blame on her, but to show that “the educational violence was chosen by mutual agreement, and what What bothers me is that we are overwhelming the gentleman! » Moreover, she is surprised that, during the procedure for domestic violence at the end of which he was convicted (May 3, 2023, Editor’s note), she never mentioned this violence against the children. “Whipping is no!” »
The judge deliberates on the seat and says: it’s yes. Abdel is sentenced to requisitions.
