At the trial of children placed in the North, a defendant assures that the ASE “knew”

Children from the North mistreated in foster families. In this trial, 19 people appear until Friday before the criminal court of Châteauroux, in Indre, among others for “violence”, “concealed work in an organized gang”, “reception of minors without prior declaration”, “administration of harmful substance” or “use of forgery”.

The first defendants denied, on Monday, all accusations of violence: “many children are liars. » And, this Tuesday, the second day of the trial which is due to last until Friday, saw Julien M. testify, suspected of having organized the illegal placement network in the center of France with an unlicensed association called “Enfance et well-being,” says The Voice of the North.

Head in the toilet bowl

Upon his arrival, Mathias, a “very difficult” teenager according to his lawyer, denounced beatings from Julien M., also accused of having urinated on him. “That evening we had been drinking. If I urinated, I don’t remember it. If I did it, I apologize,” he explains to the judge.

The defendant is also accused of having grabbed the testicles of another teenager, Damien, so hard that the latter “peeed red”. Another, Sofiane, accuses him of putting his head in the toilet bowl to punish him. He recognizes “strong croppings, little slaps behind the ear”, but not the blows. And to blame the ASE which “knew that we were outside the framework”. The defendant adds: “I was told, keep them, we have no other solution. »

Measuring “the expectations aroused by this trial”

According to the investigation, the affair broke out following Mathias’ hospitalization for “a fall while cycling”. The latter refuses, after a week in a coma, to return to his executioner. A report is then made to the public prosecutor’s office, which reveals repeated acts committed between 2010 and 2017. Some children placed in foster families complain of having suffered physical and psychological violence, humiliation and forced labor.

On the other hand, no responsible for Child Welfare (ASE) in the North will be judged, which the civil parties criticize. President Christophe Geoffroy said he measured “the expectations raised by this trial”. “We can think that other people could have appeared, but the court will only be able to judge what is before it,” he added.

The defendants risk up to ten years in prison depending on the charges.