After the death of eleven-year-old Lyhanna: France discusses alleged failure of authorities

At the center of the investigation is 41-year-old Jérôme B., a father of two daughters, who knew the schoolgirl because she was friends with his older daughter. Surveillance camera footage shows Lyhanna getting into his vehicle after school. Jérôme B. initially denied having taken the girl; after being confronted with the footage, he claimed to have taken her to the municipal swimming pool in Fleurance. However, investigators believe Lyhanna never arrived there. The prosecutor's office charged Jérôme B. with kidnapping and unlawful detention on Monday; he was taken into pre-trial detention and is now refusing to make any statements.

The Suspect and the Allegations

Prior to the incident, according to information from the Auch prosecutor's office, complaints of rape of minors had already been filed against the accused in 2022 and 2025. The 2022 complaint was reportedly dropped, and the 2025 proceedings are still ongoing, according to the authorities. Another family accuses Jérôme B. of repeatedly raping their then ten-year-old daughter in his home between September 2024 and May 2025; the mother filed a complaint for sexual assault in August 2025, naming Jérôme B. as the suspect. Nine months after this complaint, the investigation was still ongoing without the accused having been questioned.

According to AFP research, the criminal law directive signed in January by Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, which provides for priority treatment of cases involving child victims, was not applied by the responsible prosecutor in Auch, Clémence Meyer. A government spokesperson stated that the case raises fundamental questions about the weight of victim statements and investigative practices. According to their lawyer, Lyhanna's parents had forbidden contact with Jérôme B. months earlier, after the girl reported that he had tickled and touched her during an overnight stay. According to a local agricultural representative, the suspect had previously been employed on the farm where the body was found.

Political Reactions in Paris

Political reactions were sharp. President Emmanuel Macron stated on Friday morning that errors had been uncovered and must be clarified. "Errors have been uncovered, and they must be clarified. We cannot look the bereaved in the eye and tell ourselves that everything went well." The previous day, Macron had spoken of a clear "dysfonctionnement" from Montenegro and rejected questions about a lack of resources: "Il est clair qu'il y a un dysfonctionnement (...) et c'est inacceptable."

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin spoke of "des dysfonctionnements accablants et inacceptables des services de l'État." He announced that he would receive the country's public prosecutors at the Chancellery on Monday. The General Inspectorate of Justice and the General Inspectorate of the Gendarmerie Nationale have been tasked with an administrative investigation, with initial conclusions expected within 15 days, as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu stated after a multi-hour meeting at Matignon. In addition to Lecornu, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, Justice Minister Darmanin, and Minister for Public Finance David Amiel participated in the meeting on Friday. Lecornu expressed being "choqué" by the case.

Deficiencies at the Court in Auch

Opposition politicians also expressed themselves in strong terms. The chairman of the Républicains and presidential candidate for 2027, Bruno Retailleau, spoke of a failure of the justice system: "Notre système judiciaire est une faillite, il faut le réformer en profondeur." Édouard Philippe, a candidate for the Horizons party, called for a genuine precautionary principle in dealing with violence against children. Marine Tondelier, leader of the Greens, called the case a "symbole d'un système politico-judiciaire incapable de gérer le sujet des violences sexistes et sexuelles." The coordinator of the left-wing party La France Insoumise, Manuel Bompard, demanded "des réponses politiques à la hauteur pour donner les moyens nécessaires aux enquêteurs sur ces sujets alors que le gouvernement n'a fait que les couper." Éric Mouzin, father of Estelle Mouzin, who disappeared in 2003, called it "surréaliste que les ministres de l'Intérieur et de la Justice semblent découvrir l'existence de dysfonctionnements au sein de leur ministère" on the RTL channel.

As early as April 2025, David Taupiac, a member of parliament for the Gers department, had pointed to operational difficulties at the Auch court in a written parliamentary question, including a shortage of judges and clerks and repeated IT failures. Taupiac told the AFP news agency on Friday: "Ça a perturbé le travail de la justice." The mayor of Fleurance, Grégory Bobbato, told BFMTV: "This is a real state failure. France is paying the price for decades of cuts in the justice system." He also asked if society always had to wait for concrete evidence before protecting children: "Do we really always have to wait for concrete evidence before finally taking action to protect our children?"

Carine Durrieu Diebolt, a lawyer specializing in sexual criminal law, stated that the "red flags" should have led to the cases being combined and an expedited procedure initiated. She also criticized outdated judicial methods, such as sending files by mail. Victim support groups also complain that hesitant action by authorities is not uncommon, even in the most serious allegations. The defense for the accused rejected the accusations: "My client is presumed innocent. No one has ever questioned him," stated Jérôme B.'s lawyer. In previous proceedings, according to information from the authorities, Jérôme B. was accused in 2017 of a relationship with a then 17-year-old; the proceedings were dropped in 2018 because, under the law at the time, the young woman was considered consenting. In 2021, he lost his job as a substitute caretaker at a secondary school after an "inappropriate relationship" with a student.

Memorial in Fleurance

The day after the body was found, Lyhanna's family lawyer, François Roujou de Boubée, said: "The grief and anger of the parents cannot be put into words." The family had previously expressed "le plus grand effroi" in a statement released through their lawyer. On Friday morning, the classes of the secondary school Lyhanna attended remained closed; teachers, parents, and students gathered for a memorial service.

Administrative and Criminal Investigations

The search for the girl in the days following her disappearance involved a large number of police forces and technical resources, supported by numerous volunteers from the local population. According to the Paris Ministry of Justice, the Interior and Justice Ministries launched a joint investigation on Wednesday to examine how the authorities handled previous complaints against the suspect. Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon stated that the case "raises the question of the weight of victim statements and how investigations are conducted in such cases." This is intended to clarify what structural deficiencies may have delayed or prevented the processing of previous cases.

Parallel to the administrative investigations, criminal investigations are continuing. The Agen prosecutor's office announced that the autopsy is expected to provide the final identification of the victim and medico-legal conclusions on the cause of death. If the suspicion of sexual assault is confirmed, this is likely to be of considerable importance for the sentence against the accused. Observers view the simultaneous announcement of a political and a judicial investigation as an attempt by the government to take responsibility in the short term without jeopardizing the ongoing investigations.