They denounce
"hitting bloody fingers with metal rulers"
,
"barefoot running in the snow"
,
"nights in the cold in underwear"
... In total, thirty-three students from the former Catholic institution Notre-Dame de Bétharram, located between Igon and Lestelle-Bétharram in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, filed a complaint for acts of violence, sexual assault and even rape, which allegedly took place within the establishment between 1980 and 1992. Thirteen of them landed in the office of the Pau prosecutor, Rodolphe Jarry, this Tuesday, February 13,
Le Figaro
learned from the prosecution.
The previous twenty were filed on January 31.
The affair was revealed following the creation of a Facebook group entitled
“Formers of the Bétharram college and high school, victims of the institution”
, by Alain Esquerre, one of them.
To Le
Figaro
, he states that 15 of the complaints concern acts of a sexual nature, including
“fellatios”
and acts imposed on
“13-year-old children”
.
The rest denounces
“violence and acts of barbarism”
.
Certain facts would not yet be prescribed.
The 33 complaints
“come from different people, who do not know each other”
before the creation of this group.
“Treated like cattle”
“People tell you about their distress, things they suffered at the age of 10 or 12 and which they have never told anyone. They hid in their silence while some live ten kilometers away
,” also confided Alain Esquerre.
This former student
“suffered and saw physical violence on a daily basis”.
“I paid the price for a thorough beating
,” he added, also denouncing a
“well-established operating procedure”
in this elitist institution.
“Children were treated like cattle.”
According to our colleagues from
Sud-Ouest
, eight students target in their complaint a supervisor, who still works within the college, renamed
“Le Beau Rameau”
since 2009. The man accused, suspected of sexual abuse, is said to have also accompanied, for 40 years, scout outings and holiday camps during the summer.
The Beau Rameau school complex, formerly Notre-Dame de Bétharram, is located near Lourdes, between Igon and Lestelle-Bétharram.
Google Maps screenshot
Contacted by AFP, the head of the establishment, Father Jean-Marie Ruspil, said he was
“saddened”
and considered it
“very regrettable that violence could have been used against children and adolescents”
.
“Since November, I myself have received testimonies from former students who were surprised, not to say shocked,”
who
“regret that the good memories of former students are not highlighted
,” he said. he adds.
The preliminary investigation opened by the Pau public prosecutor's office for violence, rape and aggravated sexual assault, entrusted to the Pau gendarmerie, will have to shed light on these accusations.
But for former resident Alain Esquerre, the affair is already a
“national scandal”
, given the number of alleged victims.
Others could soon file a complaint, he assures.
He urges potential victims to make themselves known by sending an email to the following email address: victimsdebetharram@gmail.com