Fiona.
Kenzo.
Tony.
Smaël.
Kleony.
Hyana.
Lilian.
Seven victims who are, alas, far from being the only ones.
Seven children mistreated, abused, martyred.
Seven terrible, recently publicized stories that remind us that sometimes those who should be protectors turn into executioners.
From this Wednesday June 30 to Friday July 2, Steven GR and Laetitia R., Lilian's stepfather and mother, are back in court for the death of the four-year-old boy in February 2017.
To read also: Murder of little Lilian: thirty years in prison for the stepfather, two years for his mother
Lilian was born in December 2012. His parents quickly separated.
His mother, Laetitia R., moved with Steven GR to Lempdes (Puy-de-Dôme).
A second child is recognized by this new companion, then a third baby boy is born from this relationship.
But Steven GR, already convicted of domestic violence, mistreats Lilian and Laetitia R. Only the father of the little boy gives the alert, on several occasions, without being listened to.
To read also: Death of little Hyana: the mother sentenced to fifteen years, the companion to thirty years
On February 21, 2017, Laetitia R. left the three children with her partner while she went to a medical appointment.
What happened that day, before Steven GR called Laetitia R., rushed back to their home and called the emergency services?
As in many cases of this type, the last hours of life of little Lilian, who died of a head trauma, remain unclear.
Steven GR only mentions a fall on the stairs.
"Lilian could have been there"
The young man maintains this version during his trial, which takes place in October 2020 in Riom.
At the end of three days of hearing, the Assize Court of Puy-de-Dôme sentences Steven GR to thirty years imprisonment for "murder of a minor of fifteen years" and Laetitia R. to four years in prison, including two. suspended sentence for "non-assistance to a person in danger".
"My client considered that this decision was suitable for Steven GR, but he did not understand the sentence imposed on Laetitia R., who had not denounced anything of the violence"
, confides Me Anne-Laure Lebert, the lawyer of the father of Lilian.
To read also: At the assizes, the course of the martyred childhood of little Tony until death
An appeal was lodged, which led to the organization of a second trial, this time before the Assize Court of Haute-Loire.
The accused, now 27, faces life imprisonment again.
Contacted, his lawyer did not respond to the
Figaro's
solicitations
.
For her part, Laetitia R., 26, still faces five years in prison.
To read also: Fiona case: the mother sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment, the stepfather to 18 years
“We wonder how a mother can not protect her child
, concedes her advice, Me Sandrine Legay.
But she did not completely sit idly by.
She notably spoke about it to the parents of her companion.
And an expertise came to show that by virtue of her psychological functioning, her experience as a child having grown up in violence, she was not able to put an immediate stop to this mistreatment.
She lived under a destructive influence which partly explains this passivity.
"
To read also: Martyrdom of little Smaël: 20 years imprisonment for the mother, seven for the father
On the bench of the civil parties will again rub shoulders with the father of Lilian and the association Innocence in Danger.
“There were several alerts from this dad to explain that his son was being mistreated by Steven GR and that Laetitia R. was doing nothing. If we had listened to his father, Lilian could have been there, ”
insists Me Myriam Guedj Benyaoun, the association's lawyer at the first trial.
"What we want is for measures to be put in place when reports are made, rather than screaming our rage at a trial when the child has died."
