Bruno C., described as “general coordinator” of the network of unlicensed host families tried in Châteauroux, took the stand this Wednesday, October 16. If he admitted certain violence, he however refuted any perversion and sexual acts against minors, despite the numerous testimonies. Bogging the court down with meaningless answers.
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The rhetorical number did not particularly work for Bruno C., this Wednesday, October 16. Before the Châteauroux criminal court, on the third day of the trial, the “general coordinator” of the network of unlicensed host families tried long sentences and theatricality to charm his audience. At most he will have disgusted a good part of those present.
The profile of the defendant, 61 years old, allowed for a certain suspicion. Of all the defendants, he is the only one currently incarcerated. Because, since the facts judged in Châteauroux, he has been sentenced to 20 years of criminal imprisonment for raping his daughter. And, ten years earlier, he had been convicted of sexual assault on a minor. In this case, already, his daughter.
During the current trial, the offenses with which he is accused are numerous: forgery and use of forgery, hidden work in an organized gang, unfit accommodation, administration of harmful substances, and violence. Like Julien M., the head of the network, who presented it “as his right arm, the general coordinator“. A former foster child also accuses him of rape, a fact not judged during this trial. The prosecutor announced her intention to reopen the investigation into these specific facts.
In a confident voice, his face hidden behind thick gray hair and beard, Bruno C. quickly puts his strategy in place: charge Julien M. and his parents, as they have charged him in recent days. And clear yourself of any faulty workmanship. At best, present yourself as a tax advisor to the family. The association that set up this entire network in 2016 and 2017, created with its help to welcome children placed by Child Welfare (ASE) in the North? “I don’t appear in the statuses, I wasn’t in on the scam!“
It tells how the network is created. The first host family is first met privately. Then, “we talked to them about it, temporarily welcoming children from the ASE outside the framework, with 50 euros per day, so 1,500 euros per month per child, they said ok“. Subsequently, he continued his canvassing among some of his acquaintances, in Indre, Creuse and Haute-Vienne. “Some told me no, some told me “you have to see”, some told me yes… The lure of profit!“
He himself began to welcome children from the ASE du Nord into his home. And this while his home is deemed unfit by the Indre services. In particular, a caravan without water or sanitation, in which several children were housed. “Julien came with an educator, they looked at the caravan, they said it was perfect…“He assures us: the ASE of the North knew everything, from the accommodation conditions to the “star” organization of the network.
Witness and actor in several episodes of violence against children, he confesses to a good part of it. But still explains it, saying: “I am not a professional.“Like this time when Julien M. urinated on young Matthias. Shortly before, Bruno C. admitted to having held the teenager’s head against a door. And not having intervened more than that afterwards:
I didn’t think Julien was going to pull down his pants and urinate. In the gear, I held the lead. Until proven otherwise, Julien wasn’t going to do much to him. He said to me: “Hold on.” He’s a friend, I had connections, it was convenience.
That evening, Julien M. was drunk. Which would explain, according to the person concerned, why he remembers absolutely nothing. Credible? “Maybe he doesn’t remember exactly scèneestimates Bruno C. But having pulled down his pants, having peed, all the same… He drank, but not to the point of falling.“
He indicates a quasi-hierarchical relationship with Julien M. on numerous occasions. Particularly when the debates address overdoses of neuroleptics, observed in several adolescents. “Witnesses say that you and [Julien M.] used to such treatments to calm young people“, and this without an order made in the presence of the minors, the prosecutor points out to him. “On medications, I’m terrible, it’s one of my shortcomings, I don’t like it“, begins the defendant. Before discarding completely: “If Julien says it’s good, I did it on authority. I was asked to do it…“
As the questions go on, he turns more and more towards the victims, and less and less towards the president of the court. He cuts off the lawyers’ questions, as well as the president’s, which seems to annoy him quite a bit. “Sir, listen!“Nothing helps. The answers to the questions are long, rambling.”You are easily able to divert attention, you are distilling the attention of the people present in this room.“Which doesn’t discourage him.”Smooth talker“, quips one person in the audience.
Bruno C. is accused of forbidding young girls who passed by his house to wear underwear.
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© Press cartoonist – Juliette Roché
Bruno C. also recognizes a violent episode against the young Maëva, whom he “thrust“voluntarily:”It wasn’t thick, it fell off, I admit. It landed on the pool frame, it left a mark.“Episode following which the gendarmerie intervenes and removes the child from the accused.”Are you aware of having damaged Maëva?” “Yes. I’m sorry. I’m a filthy bastard. I questioned myself, I had an evolution.“The lengthy answers pile up, despite the questions formulated with the intention of obtaining only a “yes” or “no” from the sixty-year-old. Occasionally, he even asks questions to himself .
And these lengths are not especially for the benefit of clarity. Particularly when some of the most serious facts are discussed. The file highlights a sexualized atmosphere at his home. Several young girls who passed by his house accused him of forbidding them to wear underwear. He tries several times to justify himself. “It’s false, I’m no more libertine than anyone else.“But gets bogged down. Or, at least, bogged down the courtroom.
The lawyers and the prosecutor ask him, in turn, to explain himself more clearly. “I recommended that they not arrive with dirty laundryhe finally blurted out. And if she didn’t have her own, I asked that she not wear one.“The retching is loud in the audience.”And the boys, they wore underwear! You weren’t checking for them?” “It didn’t concern me.“Few seem to have understood better.
And it doesn’t stop there. Several former foster children accuse him of forcing them to wear miniskirts and plunging necklines. “No no, I just asked for a decent outfit. And some didn’t meet my criteria at all.“Palpable disgust throughout the room.”They lie. My answer is the same. If it were true, I would have said it!“He pretends he has nothing left to lose.”I have a 50% chance of dying in prison, so you know…“
Nearly five hours of hearing later, the audience left the court in the rain, shortly after 7 p.m. “It was not beneficial at all“, breathes his lawyer, Alban Briziou, in the room of the lost steps. He himself had to get up several times to ask his client to stay on track. “I know him… He didn’t answer questions, he wasn’t specific. We lost him.“He sees a man in this number.”not manageable, happy to talk because he has been in prison for years, to see people, to have an audience“.
And the number shouldn’t stop there. His last intervention of the day was towards the president. “Will I be allowed to speak again before the end?“Positive response. The trial is due to end this Friday, October 18.
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