2023-11-12 09:08:00
His granddaughters
The former garbage collector, transferred to mutual insurance after a stroke which made him dependent, is at the courthouse rather than in a retirement home on this rainy day for acts of rape and indecent assault on several victims. First there was Marie*, less than ten years old during events dating back to the early 2000s. “I am the godfather of her father who is the son of my sister-in-law”, attempts to summarize the defendant who having so much difficulty making himself understood that his wheelchair was moved forward two meters by his lawyer, his caregiver seeming to no longer want to help him.
But there are also Vanessa* and Caroline*, two of his granddaughters who were allegedly abused by their grandfather around ten years ago when they were minors. Paul is suspected of having caressed the crotch and genitals of his victims, of having kissed and touched them while giving them a bath, before masturbating. “I don’t know why they are accusing me, nothing has ever happened with anyone,” Paul tries to defend himself. And if I touched them in the bath, it wasn’t on purpose.”
– “It is still difficult to masturbate without doing it on purpose,” retorts the president of the court, who speaks softly to make himself understood by the deaf man.
– “I admit it, but if I touched them, it’s because they wanted me to.”
Three rows behind, Marta holds her head and hides her face. She can no longer stand hearing the atrocities committed by the man who turns to her several times as if to see if she has not deserted in the meantime.
Mathilde was fired from her non-profit organization because the money in the fund had disappeared: “I was afraid”
Several backgrounds
For the civil party, the facts are all the more serious as they were carried out in an intra-family context. “There was great affection among the children for their grandfather,” says the lawyer of one of the victims. At the time, they did not have the weapons to realize the seriousness of the facts. That’s why there was a long period of silence.”
If he denies everything outright, Paul knows that he is in even more trouble as these are not isolated facts. During his military service in 1960, the military court requested an internment measure against him for indecent assault on young people under 16 years old. Later, in the scouting world, parents complained about his behavior. “There is no smoke without fire,” concludes the civil party.
All our sketches of justice
“You have to be reasonable”
For the first substitute, Paul never questioned his pedophilic sexual urges. This lack of introspection, combined with his lack of empathy and his background, pushes him to ask for a firm sentence of six years’ imprisonment. “He still constitutes a social danger despite his motor weakness,” explains the first substitute. His physical condition is compatible with detention, there is no contraindication for him to be incarcerated.”
When he takes the floor, the defense lawyer explains that he will have about two hours to go.
“Two o’clock ? No, it’s impossible, you have to be reasonable, replied the president of the court while postponing the rest of the case until later given the length of the debates. Sir, you will have to come back because your file cannot be processed in five minutes.”
At the back of the room, Marta’s face falls. She understands that she is far from being at the end of her troubles. Just like Paul who, returning to his wheelchair, still does not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation…
* Aliased names
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