“Imagine yourself sitting on the toilet and you see a camera pass between your legs. What will this do to you? » In two sentences, Mr. Pierre Garcia brings to life the “humiliation” of seeing his privacy violated in this way. Before the Mons judges, this Thursday, January 16, he defended the interests of his client, a 45-year-old trader regularly present on the Mont-de-Marsan market.
This Saturday, July 20, 2024, while she is in the toilets of the Boniface stadium, where the market is relocated due to the Madeleine Festival, she surprises someone photographing her without her knowledge. On her way out, she discovers a town hall official with his phone in his hand. She calls the police.
The 60-year-old man, twenty of whom manages the market, tries to put it into context: “A few weeks before that, I thought I would retire at the end of the year. I learned that I had to work three more years. I lost my footing. I was exhausted by this weariness of working every weekend between 2:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m..” Surprised, neither the judge, nor the prosecutor, nor the lawyers saw the link with this act of a sexual nature.
“Questioning”
“I understand that his explanations will not satisfy anyone,” argues Me Laura Étienne, “but my client, known to all traders and town hall officials, is in real doubt. He, too, seeks to know why. He wants to get out of it. »
-The man with a clean criminal record keeps insisting: “I don’t know why I did this, it’s the only time. In December, I started therapy to try to understand. I reiterate my apologies to the victim,” he said, adding that he has since changed position. In his professional and personal phones, the police will not find anything compromising.
A fine of 500 euros is requested by the Mons prosecutor's office. Finally, the municipal employee is ordered to pay a fine of 800 euros and 1,000 euros to the victim.
We can bet that this photography enthusiast – “more than 100,000 photos taken per year”, according to him – will now remain focused on animals and landscapes.
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