Lyhanna case in France: Eleven-year-old found dead after a week – serious accusations against the judiciary

Suspect and circumstances of the disappearance

The 41-year-old suspect, the father of a schoolmate of the girl, had taken the child by car on the Friday of the previous week, allegedly to drop her off at the swimming pool at her request. The girl was last seen in his car. The man is in pretrial detention and is refusing to make a statement.

As it turned out, there had been several complaints and investigations against the man for the rape of minors, which the judiciary had in some cases dropped or let stall. According to the newspaper Le Figaro, the suspect had not been questioned by police since the most recent complaint in August 2025.

Prior complaints against the suspect

An investigation following a complaint filed in 2022 was dropped due to lack of evidence. Another criminal complaint from the summer of 2025 had so far not led to questioning of the suspect or the alleged witnesses. On Wednesday – only a few days before Lyhanna's disappearance – the man was reported again for the rape of a minor. This presumably concerns the case of an eleven-year-old who had attended a sleepover party at one of his daughters' homes.

Lyhanna's parents had distanced themselves from the man after such a sleepover party at the suspect's house. In government circles, there was criticism of the conduct of the public prosecutor's office in Auch, where a complaint of rape against the suspect had already been filed months earlier. The regulation in force since the beginning of the year requiring cases involving minor victims to be treated as a priority had not been followed, it was said.

Political reactions and calls for clarification

The case has triggered shock and outrage in France and, according to consistent reports, has become the most closely followed news story in the country. Emmanuel Macron acknowledged shortcomings in the French judicial system. «Il est évident qu'il y a ici un échec, et nous ne pouvons pas passer sous silence que des failles sont apparues ; elles doivent être élucidées (…) de même que les responsabilités qui entrent en jeu», Macron said.

Gérald Darmanin described the judiciary's handling of the information pointing to the suspect as «völlig inakzeptabel» and spoke of a «Versagen». On Friday, Darmanin also expressed his displeasure that his instructions on dealing with sexual violence against minors had not been implemented in the Lyhanna case. He called a meeting with representatives of the public prosecutor's office for Monday.

Internal investigation and possible consequences

Darmanin spoke of «erhebliche und inakzeptable Störungen» in the handling of the criminal complaints against the suspect. From his circle, it was said that the responsible judicial officials could face penalties should the established violations be confirmed. Sébastien Lecornu convened the justice and interior ministers on the case.

Initial findings from an internal investigation by the authorities are to be presented within two weeks at the latest. Police assume that the arrested man is involved in the fate of the missing girl. The case has triggered a political debate in France about child protection and the workings of the judiciary.

The alleged perpetrator had been reported multiple times in recent years for sexual assault and for the rape of minors, without this having had any legal consequences. The public prosecutor's office is now reviewing the entire complex of prior complaints as well as the concrete sequence of events in the Lyhanna case.