Eleven young women had filed a complaint against a member of their family who had attacked them during their childhood in the 1980s in Piton Sainte-Rose. They are disappointed by the sentence handed down this Friday, October 4 by the Saint-Denis criminal court: Three years in prison, two of which are suspended on probation and one year adjustable.
First of all, astonishment. Anger then. This Friday, October 5, the Champ-Fleuri court, in Saint-Denis, sentenced the sexual attacker from Piton Sainte-Rose to a sentence without a committal warrant.
During the hearing, on September 17, 2024, the 11 complainants, victims from 1985 of this man from their family circle, testified about the events suffered during their early childhood, between 3 and 7 years old.
At the end of the deliberations, the court sentences the defendant to three years in prison, two of which are suspended and one year adjustable, which means that he will not go behind bars.
Perhaps for fear of a committal warrant, the defendant did not enter the room to hear this decision.
“He was found guilty of his actions but then he didn’t even show up to hear what the judge had to say to him. He stayed outside.”
That their attacker, although convicted, leaves court “with his hands in his pockets”, is a hard blow for Aurélie, one of the victims.
“He has always been free, he only spent 48 hours in police custody which, again, was cut short because he wanted to commit suicide. Kill himself for what, if he did nothing ?”
Already shocked by the passage of the case in correctional rather than before a criminal court, the victims find justice far from the “MeToo spirit”.
“I find that there is no sentence there… we are asked to speak, to express what we have suffered… What example does French justice give to children who are currently undergoing ?And he is free to continue?continues Aurélie.
The fear of repeat offenses against other minors is also Julie’s concern. She believes she has done her part:
“There are people who do less than that and who go to prison. Now it’s up to justice to do its job. If tomorrow this man does it again, which will certainly be the case, because it doesn’t stop like being a pedophile, justice will be responsible for what will happen.”
Julie’s mother cried a lot this morning. She expressed her fear of being taunted every day in the small village of Piton Sainte-Rose, by the man who attacked her daughters.
The matter is not over. Supported by the association EPA, Listen to me, Protect me Help me, the victims will appeal.
They intend, during this future hearing, to assert the new elements in their possession.
