France's interior minister has ordered a review into the handling of child abuse allegations after it emerged that the main suspect in the disappearance of an 11-year-old girl had previously been accused of raping minors without facing charges. The girl, identified only as Lyhanna, vanished on Friday near the village of Fleurance in south-western France. A body was discovered on Thursday, and formal identification is under way, according to an informed source.
The suspect, a 41-year-old father of two, has been detained. He admitted giving Lyhanna a lift after being shown security camera footage but insisted he dropped her off at a swimming pool. Prosecutor Clemence Meyer revealed that three prior complaints had been filed against the man, including one for the rape of a child under 15 in 2020, which was dismissed in 2024 due to lack of evidence.
Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon expressed outrage, stating, 'What we’re discovering day after day is absolutely unbearable.' She questioned the importance given to victims' testimonies and how investigations are conducted. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told parliament on Wednesday that he had demanded the justice ministry carry out an inquiry into the handling of the cases.
Anne-Cécile Mailfert of the Women's Foundation activist group called for a comprehensive law against sexual violence, saying, 'The system doesn't work.' She highlighted that another 10-year-old girl had filed a complaint against the suspect last year, but no action was taken. Volunteers on horseback joined about 170 police in the search for Lyhanna on Thursday.
