Dominique Lott, mayor of Échenon (Côte-d'Or), has just submitted his resignation.
The sub-prefecture of Beaune confirmed to
Le Figaro
that the mayor of this town of less than 800 inhabitants sent a letter to the prefect of the Côte-d'Or, who is still awaiting receipt and has not therefore not yet officially accepted.
The elected official has been implicated since mid-November in a case of possession of child pornography images.
He is one of a group of 48 men arrested by the police at the same time as part of an operation to combat child pornography coordinated by the Central Office for the Suppression of Violence against Persons (OCRVP).
Placed in police custody on November 16, Dominique Lott came out free the next day but placed under judicial control with an obligation of care and a ban on carrying out a usual activity in connection with minors.
According to a press release sent to the press by the Dijon prosecutor, the defendant then recognized “
part of the facts
” with which he was accused.
The exploitation of its computer equipment revealed “
image and video files featuring minors aged 5 to 15, in suggestive poses, or having sexual relations with each other or with adults.
»
Letter to the President of the Republic
"
The town received the information of his indictment on November 17
", recounts for
Le Figaro
Wardia Haya Cartaut, a mother from Échenon at the initiative of a citizen action calling for the resignation of the mayor.
“
A Municipal Council was held on November 25, and it was therefore expected that he would submit his resignation.
Except that at the end of this Council, we learned via a municipal councilor that he was absent and did not intend to resign
, she explains.
This trivialization of facts was not normal.
He lived just above the elementary school and he shared his hall every day with children
s».
Wardia Cartaut co-signed with two other mothers a letter sent to Emmanuel Macron.
A missive that went unanswered, since the presidency responded by promising to relay the facts to the prefect.
An extract from the letter co-signed by three mothers from Échenon and addressed to Emmanuel Macron.
The Public Good
These initiatives eventually paid off;
the elected official presented his letter of resignation to the sub-prefecture of Beaune on December 16, almost a month after the revelations.
He will appear before the Dijon Criminal Court on April 26, 2023. According to the Dijon prosecutor, he faces maximum penalties of seven years' imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 euros for "disseminating the image of a minor presenting a pornographic character using an electronic communication network, possession and acquisition of the image of a minor representing a pornographic character”.
The Children's Foundation is a civil party.
“
It was important for us
, explains
Le Figaro
Clémence Lisembard, head of operations within the Foundation.
This comes to support and support the cause of children.
In the end, this mayor did not want to resign, but he did so in the face of these mobilizations
”.
In the meantime, Échenon finds a little serenity: “
The main thing is that he is no longer mayor
, breathes Wardia.
Life in the village, meanwhile, continues
.