“I fall into horror”: she catches her husband in the act of incest on their baby, the court grants visitation rights to the father

The testimony aroused emotion and indignation. On the set of It Starts Today on France 2, a mother tells Faustine Bollaert about her descent into hell. Séverine says she discovered, after installing cameras at her home, that her husband was abusing their six-month-old daughter. Despite evidence, his complaint was dismissed. A testimony which is one of the many stories relayed by the Incesticide collective, which is trying to raise awareness about incest in France with a campaign entitled “the call of 500 mothers”.

Séverine, mother of two children, says she has been fighting for two years to denounce the incestuous rapes suffered by her baby. Alerted by her husband's behavior which she considers abnormal and “the traces” that she notices on her child “each time she was alone with her father”, Séverine decides to install cameras in her home. This is where she “falls into horror”. “In these images, we see him two minutes after I left the apartment rushing into the bedroom, with my baby in his arms, and going to get some sex toys,” says the mother. She immediately notifies the police and the gendarmes intervene “in flagrante delicto” at her home. She also files a complaint. “He will be in police custody for 48 hours,” she continues. And then my complaint was closed.”

Today, her husband “still has parental authority” and “has mediated visitation rights ordered by a judge”. According to her. But the center designated by the judge “does not make publicized visits,” explains the mother. The organization explained to her that after four visits, the father could be alone with the child and that he would have the right to leave the center, she assures. An unimaginable thing for Séverine who refused to bring her daughter to these visits. “So today, are you the one who is illegal?” asks the host. “Exactly,” replied the mother. “He has already filed a complaint for failure to represent a child. […] I am subpoenaed. There will be a hearing in February,” says the mother.

3 children per class victims of incest

According to Ciivise, the independent commission on incest and sexual violence against children, “three children per class are victims of incest each year in France, and 5 and a half million French people have experienced sexual violence in their childhood” . Last March, the Insecticide collective urged the government to urgently implement five of the 82 Ciivise recommendations concerning the protection of children in the event of parental incest. Present at the National Assembly, around ten personalities, including Carla Bruni, Isabelle Carré and Judith Chemla, had read testimonies from mothers of children who were victims of incest.

Also read:
Incest: detection, treatment, imprescriptible rape… what the report of the Independent Commission recommends

“Pedocriminals are often the fathers […] but when mothers file a complaint, the judicial system too often refuses to believe them, much worse, justice often turns against them by placing their children with the denounced rapist father even if the investigation is ongoing, even if the father is accused. under examination”, declared Sihem Ghars, founder of the collective, during an exchange organized at the National Assembly in the presence of mothers, personalities and the deputy (MoDem) Sandrine Josso.

Also read:
Incest: 27,000 testimonies received by Ciivise in two years, only 8% of victims were believed

The collective wishes, among other things, the suspension of the full right to exercise parental authority and visitation rights for the parent prosecuted for rape or sexual assault against their child. Another measure also provides for the systematic withdrawal of parental authority in the event of conviction for incestuous sexual violence.