Body found near Fleurance as France demands inquiry into unchecked abuse record of prime suspect
A body was found near Fleurance in the Gers on June 4, six days after 11-year-old Lyhanna vanished after being last seen entering the car of a 41-year-old local man on May 29. The man had been accused multiple times of child sexual abuse without authorities taking protective action, a failure Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told parliament warranted an immediate Justice Ministry inquiry. The case has intensified calls across France for a full accounting of how prior allegations against the suspect went unaddressed.
A body was discovered near Fleurance in the Gers department on Thursday, June 4, six days after Lyhanna, 11, disappeared while walking home from school. She was last seen around 3 p.m. on May 29 getting into the car of a 41-year-old man, the father of two, who was placed in custody as the principal suspect. Authorities were working to confirm whether the remains were those of the missing girl.
The suspect had been accused on multiple occasions of sexually abusing minors. Each time, no protective measures were taken against him. That record became the focus of nationwide outrage after his custody, with critics and child-protection advocates demanding to know why the judicial system failed to act.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told parliament on Wednesday that he had formally asked the Justice Ministry to open an administrative inquiry into how the earlier accusations against the suspect were handled. The case has drawn comparisons to previous scandals over systemic failures to act on serial abuse allegations in France.