Four children from the same family suffered sexual assault from this priest. Philippe Pouzet, 70, was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison for a rape committed in 1994 and sexual assault in 2017. He was also sentenced to a care injunction, five years of socio-judicial monitoring, and a ban on return to Cantal, where he committed his crimes, and a lifetime ban on any activity with minors.
At the end of his trial before the Cantal Assize Court, Attorney General Paolo Giambiasi demanded 15 years in prison “for society, and to (…) do justice” to the victims’ family.
Evenings at the presbytery
The large family of seven children, isolated, was the target of the one who, priest of Massiac from 2011 to 201, organized evenings at the presbytery, offered gifts, lent his car or paid for a telephone plan. During the hearing, Philippe Pouzet admitted dozens of sexual assaults and the rape of a 14-year-old teenager, while ensuring that the children were on the initiative or “looking for themselves”.
“He does not recognize the victims’ status,” said Jean-François Canis, lawyer for the families. “I am upset by all the pain that has come to the surface. I am the only one responsible for it,” the accused finally declared before the court withdrew. In total, ten victims were interviewed and a fifth child in the family claimed to have been raped himself.
The Church has closed its eyes
The investigation showed that the Church, aware of the priest’s faults, had not interrupted his career: it had noted in particular “problems of affectivity”, “moments of abandonment” which had led to “incidents”. In 1984 in Sommières (Gard), then a boarding school teacher, he was tried for “indecent assault” after having sexually assaulted two children.
“We reread history knowing what happened”, justified Mgr Bruno Grua, former bishop of Saint-Flour, adding: “Of course, from time to time, I tell myself that I Should have been more vigilant. » A director of investigation who came to testify estimated that around ten priests were aware: “I don’t know why he was not removed from his priesthood. »
