"It is a step forward in the protection of children," said the victim's lawyer, Me Grégory Thuan.
Karine J., who as a child was raped and sexually assaulted by a man staying with her parents, had the State condemned for gross misconduct and denial of justice on Tuesday on appeal.
At first instance, in 2018, the court recognized the denial of justice but found that the action for gross negligence was time-barred.
The Paris Court of Appeal reversed its decision.
The “succession of inadequacies [...] in the work of investigation and in inter-service communication, and the lack of foresight which governed the assessment of the situation and the decision-making, constitute serious faults involving the responsibility of the 'State', indicates the court in its judgment, which AFP is aware of.
The State is ordered to pay 55,000 euros in compensation for the damage to this young woman, now 23 years old.
The facts date back to 2002. That year, the parents of the young woman had hosted Roland Blaudy at their home, yet knowing his history of pedophilia.
The 65-year-old man admitted to having sexually assaulted and raped her between 2002 and 2005, when she was between five and seven years old.
He was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment by the Ille-et-Vilaine Assize Court in 2018.
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The parents of the young woman had been condemned for having asked her not to tell what Roland Blaudy had subjected her to, by threatening her: three years in prison including six months closed for the father, two years suspended for the mother.
The latter had already been convicted in the 1980s for having killed at birth, with more than a hundred stab wounds, her first child, resulting from a rape.
Placed with her uncle and aunt in 2010, Karine attacked the State for gross negligence in 2016 because the ten reports to the Rennes prosecutor's office made from her birth by doctors, school or social services had remained unanswered.
The young woman's lawyer, Me Grégory Thuan, said he was "extremely satisfied" with the decision. "The court was up to the stakes, it is a step forward in the protection of children, and the obligations of the judicial institution," he said. At first instance, the Paris court ordered the State to pay 12,000 euros to the young woman in compensation for the damage suffered as a result of the denial of justice.