2023-04-29 21:00:00
JUSTICE – The murder of Rose, this 5-year-old girl found dead in a garbage bag in Rambervilliers, leaves France in shock. Beyond this tragedy, the young age and the course of the alleged murderer are at the heart of all questions. “How was this possible? », “Why was this teenager, indicted last year for kidnapping, sexual assault and rape of two young boys aged 10 and 11, free? », “How were the doctors able to conclude that there was no mental disorder in this minor, suffering from a slight mental deficiency and strange behavior, presumed rapist, to finally consider that his discernment was impaired and that he constituted a danger? for others? ». These questions are on everyone’s lips.
Children are not born criminals
Valérie, a police officer who has worked for many years in the services for the protection of minors, also asks herself these questions, but she offers some answers. She is not working on this file, but her long experience in the field allows her to draw certain conclusions that she was kind enough to share with us.
The prosecutor of Épinal, Frédérique Nahon and the Secretary of State for Children, Charlotte Caubel, affirm that the socio-judicial follow-up of the suspect corresponded to the law.
For the policewoman, the explanation is a bit short.
“Something went wrong”, she says bluntly. Moreover, according to her, there are a lot of things that are “messy” in the care of children in difficulty or potentially dangerous. But “It’s like road accidents. We wait until there are several deaths before finally deciding to modify an accident-prone crossing,” she accuses.
Valérie has one conviction: children are not born criminals. So for her, that the alleged murderer of Rose was indicted for sexual assault and rape at the age of 14 raises questions.
“If he really raped two kids, there’s something wrong. He has urges at his age that he shouldn’t have.” says the police.
“That he does not have psychiatric problems, it is not possible”, she adds again. And to express his indignation that these problems have not been better identified before. However, it does not surprise her more than that: “All that psychiatrists generally seek in this type of case is to determine whether the defendant can be considered criminally responsible, whether his discernment was abolished, or not, at the time of the facts”.
However, the policewoman also explains that a psychiatric pathology does not exclude discernment, just as a mental deficiency does not exclude a form of intelligence. According to her, the silence of Rose’s alleged murderer may be part of a conscious strategy: “He may have developed a form of perverse intelligence and he feels he would lose control of the situation if he spoke. He was able to try to attract children by telling them about little cats. He is capable of strategic behavior. she believes.
Institutions fail to measure up
Be that as it may, discernment abolished or not, the official believes that the young accused did not come to this by chance.
“Not two months have passed after his release from the closed judicial center before this kid finds himself indicted for murder! While it seems that he progressed when he was locked up! There is still something wrong! Something we haven’t seen! », she is indignant.
From his experience, “most of the time, something happens in families” and the institutions do not necessarily have the appropriate reactions. “When a child behaves strangely or violently, you have to try to understand”, she pleads. However, according to her, we rarely ask ourselves the right questions.
“For example, the school’s first instinct is often to warn the parents in the event of abnormal behavior by a child. While we do not live in the world of Care Bears! There are not only good parents! », explains the policewoman. “When a child becomes aggressive or violent, there is a liability. It can be a sign of family abuse, neglect, neglect. And we warn the parents without trying to find out, while the kid may be getting screwed, once he gets home, because of that! Or, when the school has expressed a concern to social services, the measures taken often amount to a visit from a social worker once a month! “.
Valérie recognizes that the problems can also have an extra-familial origin and not be visible at home. Or that the parents know something is wrong, but they are helpless. Some people ask for help, but they rarely get it. In any case, the institutions are not up to the task.
“A lot of young people are poorly taken care of”, also denounces Valérie. “In homes, we mix abused children and delinquents. And when we send the first, they will be taken in hand by the second. And us, very often, we see young people pass who we know are dangerous, but we are left with no other choice but to release them. »
However, solutions can be attempted. For children to be placed, the policewoman explains that there are apartments where they live in small numbers with an educator. It’s more complicated to set up, it costs more, but it offers better quality supervision.
Regarding young sex offenders, we are looking for single men willing to become foster families.
“It’s not easy to find”, acknowledges Valerie. But finally, concerning the alleged murderer of Rose, “There were things to try with this teenager, rather than sending him back to his mother where he lived when he was accused of raping the kids! »she concludes.
Especially since when he returned to his mother’s home, there was not even a place for him at the Educational Medical Institute where he was followed before his year in a closed educational center.
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