“A crush happens. » It was with these words that a 43-year-old man justified himself to the mother of a 14-year-old girl whose neighbor he is, on the evening of September 28. A few hours earlier, while he was alone at home, in Thouarsais, with the young girl, he sexually assaulted her by caressing her back, first, then passing his hand under her collar for him stroking the chest while they were on a couch watching TV.
The victim had just seen his friend escape from the window
“Because she trusted you, her mother entrusted her to you for the day so she wouldn’t be alone”relates the president of the criminal court, who is looking into these facts this Monday, December 2. “She was in a very fragile state of mind after having seen, a few days earlier, one of her boarding school classmates escape from the window of the 3e floor. »
Confronted the same evening by the victim's mother, the man initially tried to minimize it, before choosing to admit everything. “I can’t explain what I did, I don’t remember everything, I drank a lot and slept little, but I can see myself doing it,” wants to take the accused to the stand, in a calm and composed tone. “Since then, I have seen a psychologist, it helps me a lot to understand. » But according to him it is clear, “I never had any sexual attraction to her.”
The forty-year-old has never been convicted for acts of this type, he has only come into contact with the law once for driving under the influence of alcohol. “Alcoholism has been a real problem for me for a long time. I usually drink alone. I began heavy treatment to never touch a drop of alcohol again. » He apologizes to the victim, present at the hearing with his mother. “I hope things work out for you despite everything, with the boys. »
“She trusted him”
The fact that the accused takes responsibility for his actions is “a relief for the young girl, because it is important for her that we believe her”according to the lawyer of the victim and her mother, Me Apolline Sénéchault. “She trusted him, and he abused her. She wonders a lot if he plans to start again with other girls. »
For Nicolas Leclainche, prosecutor, “It appears in particular from his psychiatric expertise that he is not the same man when he drank, and that is relatively worrying. We can also say that if the young victim had not had the reflex to leave and take refuge in the toilets, he would have gone further.” The prosecution requires a probationary stay of eighteen months.
On the defense side, Me Alexandra Meregoni emphasizes her alcoholic problem “from which he is weaning himself with very strong treatment” but also on his background without trace of actions towards minors. “He was a supervisor at a school for a long time, nothing ever happened. » And it is because he did not act as a repeat offender but because the facts are serious that he ultimately receives a one-year suspended sentence.
