Sexual relations with students at Blaise-Cendrars high school: the teacher is cleared

Last October, a case of sexual relations between a teacher at Blaise-Cendrars high school and three of his students, the first of which dates back to 1999, was made public. It had a certain impact in Franches-Montagnes, to the extent that most high school students in the region complete their maturity in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
“I have compassion for these women”
According to a press release from the ATS published on Monday, the dismissal of the teacher, recorded in November 2023, was canceled. The Cantonal Court admitted his two appeals and annulled the decisions. The Cantonal Court found in particular that certain facts alleged against the teacher are prescribed, so that no fault can be found for them. “Others would require the instruction to be completed,” the canton said Monday. Le Quotidien Jurassien collected the reaction of a former high school student, also a signatory of the petition which followed the affair and which aimed to prevent abuse of power in the school environment. “I have compassion for these women who initiated these legal proceedings. The court’s decision leaves aside the notion of psychological control.” The young woman regrets that justice only considers factual elements and neglects the vulnerability of the victims at the time of the events.
Motion to the Grand Council
Furthermore, the Neuchâtel Grand Council accepted on October 1 an amended motion from Clarence Chollet (Vert-es), asking to improve the protection of the sexual integrity of students. The MP is campaigning for a directive which would prohibit a relationship between a teacher and his students. The motion also calls for the periodic organization of awareness-raising among Neuchâtel teaching staff on ethical issues in schools and training. The text mentions the opportunity to make the adoption of a code of conduct obligatory within all schools in the canton. The aforementioned former student is delighted that the affair has caused a reaction in the political sphere. “It is important to realize that this is a structural problem,” she argues.