Outreau trial

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The Outreau trial was a miscarriage of justice in France. The "Outreau Affair" concerning an alleged network of pedophiles in a poor suburb of Boulogne-sur-Mer in the Pas-de-Calais began in November 2001. The first trial took place in Saint-Omer in 2004, and the Appeal trial took place in Paris in 2005. In January 2006, a parliamentary inquiry was created, with President Jacques Chirac calling the affair it a "judicial disaster."

18 people were involved - mostly parents accused of pedophilia and incest whose children were separated from them for much of this time. School teachers and social workers noticed “strange sexual behavior” from four or the children. Psychologists believed they were credible witnesses, but doctors found no evidence of sexual abuse.^[1] The parents had been accused of pedophilia on the testimony of some of the children, which was then backed-up by some adults' confessions.

On remand for between one and three years, of these eighteen defendants, four admitted they were guilty and were convicted in the first 2004 trial.^[1] Seven denied involvement and were acquitted in the first trial; and the last six, who denied any responsibility, were convicted and given light sentences in the first trial. These six made an appeal, and were heard by the Paris Cour d'assises in autumn 2005. On the first day of the hearing, the prosecution's claims were destroyed, and all six were finally acquitted.^[2] Another defendant had committed suicide in prison while awaiting trial.

The affair caused public indignation and questions on the general workings of justice in France. The role of an inexperienced magistrate, Fabrice Burgaud,^[3] fresh out of the Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature was underscored, as well as the undue weight given to children's words and to psychiatric expertise, both of which were revealed wrong. The media's relation of the events was also questioned; although they were quick to point out the judicial error, they also had previously endorsed the "Outreau affair".

1 The trial
2 The second trial
3 Parliamentary inquiry
4 References
5 External links

[edit] The trial

The case involved an alleged ring of 18 pedophiles on the basis of one woman's evidence and some corroborating statements from alleged victims. The alleged offenders were condemned on the grounds of certain adults' and, most of all, the children's testimony, together with psychiatric evidence. The hearing of the children took place in "huis clos" (behind closed doors), which triggered the indignation of the public and of the defence. The six convicted persons who denied any responsibility made an appeal to the French justice.

The woman who had given much of the evidence later confessed in court she had lied, and the children's revelations were found to be unreliable. Only four of the accused ever confessed, all the others insisted on their innocence: one committed suicide in jail during the investigation, 7 others were acquitted during the first trial in May 2004, the last 6 during the second trial on the evening of December 1st 2005.

[edit] The second trial

The second appeal trial took place before the Paris' Cour d'assises, used as an appellate court for review of both facts and law. On its first day, the accusation's claims were dismissed, owing to the statement of the main prosecution witness, Myriam Badaoui, who had declared on November 18 that the six convicted persons "had not done anything" and that she had herself lied. Thierry Delay, her former husband, backed up her statement. During the trial, the psychological evidence was also called into question, as they appeared biased and lacking in weight. The denials of two children, who admitted that they had formerly lied, also participated in destroying the prosecution's claims. One of the psychologists said on TV: "I am paid the same as a cleaning lady, so I provide a cleaning lady's expertise," which caused further public indignation.

At the end of the trial, the general prosecutor (avocat général) asked for acquittal of all of the accused persons. The defence renounced its right to plead, preferring to observe a minute of silence in favor of François Mourmand, who had died in prison during remand. Yves Bot, general prosecutor of Paris, even came to the trial on its last day, without advising the president of the Cour d'assises, Mrs. Mondineu-Hederer, to present his apologies to the defendants on behalf of the legal system - he did this before the verdict was delivered, for which some magistrates reproached him afterwards.

All six defendants were finally acquitted on December 1, 2005, putting an end to five years of trials, which have been described by the French media as a "judicial foundering" or even as a "judicial Chernobyl".

[edit] Parliamentary inquiry

After the second trial, the Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, the minister of justice Pascal Clément and President Chirac himself officially apologised to the victims in the name of the government and of the judicial institutions.

In January 2006, there was a special parliamentary enquiry (for the first time broadcast live on television) about this catastrophe judiciaire (judicial disaster), as called by President Chirac, to help prevent a reoccurence by alterations to France's legal system : the role of experts (who had drawn hasty conclusions from children's testimony) and child protection advocates, lack of legal representation, the responsibility of the judges (the prosecution system depended in this case on a single investigative magistrate) and the role of the mass media.

The hearing of the acquitted persons by the parliamentary enquiry caused a surge of emotion through the whole country. The affair was designated as a "judiciary shipwreck".