alcoholic and violent, the father is condemned

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Friday January 19, the Rebais gendarmerie (Seine-et-Marne) was commissioned by the Meaux Public Prosecutor's Office to investigate following a report sent by the management of the college attended by young Hugo*. Two days earlier, the teachers were surprised and worried to see him arrive in class with a cheek marked by a hematoma and a swollen nose. Uncomfortable, he avoided the questions. But a few hours later, while he was changing in a locker room before sports, his friends noticed that Hugo had marks of blows and bruises on his body.

They decided to notify their teacher who relayed the information.

When questioned, Hugo could not continue to remain silent. He admitted to having been slapped the previous evening, during dinner, by his father who returned to the table afterwards and quietly finished his meal. His nose was bloody and his glasses were stolen. He added with difficulty that this happened from time to time, when he had drunk too much, and that he could sometimes take it out on his mother or his brother.

Ludovic was arrested and then placed in police custody.

Two days of ITT

After hearing Ludovic, the gendarmes listened to Hugo and recorded his statement. They then interviewed the mother who confirmed her husband's outbursts of anger and violence. She also clarified that their son Hugo is under treatment for hyperactivity and it is difficult to manage. The couple's second boy mentioned some corrections but showed no signs.

The neighborhood investigation brought its share of information: screams heard the evening of the slap, the father often seen in his garden with a can of beer in his hand and sometimes tipsy…

Hugo was examined by the doctor from the Medical-Judicial Unit (UMJ) who granted him two days of total incapacity for work (ITT).

“I stood up and slapped him.”

At the bar of the Meaux criminal court, Friday November 15, Ludovic adopted an astonishing mode of defense: amnesia and denial, sometimes punctuating his remarks with two words: “I regret”. When the judge asked him why the meal had been lively, he replied: “ I don't remember “. The magistrate had no other solution than to read the statement made during his 48-hour detention: “I reproached him for his attitude. He spoke badly to me and his tone rose. Then he threatened me to go live with his girlfriend's parents. I stood up and slapped him.” On the other hand, he regained some semblance of memory to deny the frequent beatings as well as the repeated and recent drinking, particularly on the evening of the altercation. He did not hesitate to imply that his son was lying.

Intervening on Hugo's behalf, the advisor to the victims' defense association Avimej returned to the probable addiction to beer, questioning the occasional nature of his consumption, as claimed by the defendant. Seeing the negative expression on his face, she cited a sentence uttered by him in the gendarmerie: “My son is used to seeing me with a can in my hand.” Only one response was given: “I don’t remember.” The mandated lawyer pleaded briefly, highlighting Ludovic's “disturbing speech” and announcing the formation of a civil party without requesting damages.

Before taking requisitions, the representative of the public prosecutor addressed his criminal past and asked him why he had been convicted in April. This time again, he contented himself with “I don’t remember.” Slightly exasperated by Ludovic's attitude, she addressed him in an unequivocal tone: “It was driving under the influence of alcohol. We're really going to have to stop drinking alcohol! It significantly impairs your memory.” She regretted her inability to cope, her denial about alcoholism, her positioning before the court. She requested a firm sentence, adjustable under electronic monitoring.

6 months of house arrest

Ludovic's lawyer tried to justify her client's behavior with anxiety: “He is so impressed that his brain no longer works.” She asked for clemency, explaining that he had broken down: “A conviction, yes, but a proportionate sentence.”

The judge gave him six months of house arrest under an electronic bracelet. The sentence enforcement judge (JAP) will set the terms. Ludovic will have to submit to an obligation of addictological care and follow a parental responsibility course.

*The victim's first name has been changed

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