Since the case began, the child had never spoken out about the accusations of abuse against his mother. The latter had been removed from custody of her son in July 2022 before being indicted on May 15.
Her son, who has been living in a child welfare home for eleven months, denies all the accusations. "I'm very sad to be away from my mom," he told Le Figaro. At home, I am anxious and on guard... I'm just waiting for one thing, and that's to find her." The boy describes his former home as "a dwelling like any other, with things piled up right and left." He slept in what he describes as "a living room-bedroom", while his mother settled "a futon in the bathroom".
His physical appearance had alerted the doctors
The child had left home after a hospital visit in July 2022, which he explains as "an allergic reaction to a throat lozenge or dried fruit". The caregivers had noted a "very deteriorated general state of health" coupled with a situation of thinness: he weighed 27 kg for a height of 1.47 meters, according to the Rennes prosecutor's office. Added to this were delays in his vaccinations, his non-schooling, several deficiencies and speech problems.
Read alsoRennes: skinny, isolated... What is known about the suspicion of abuse against the mother of a 14-year-old boy
"I weigh between 28 and 33 kilos but I have always eaten my fill," he told Le Figaro. "At home, if I was peckish, I could take whatever I wanted. Especially Grisons meat and goat cheese, I love it," he continues before lamenting his new living conditions: "Since I've been at home, it's just the opposite. The quality of the canteen is deplorable. I have to buy my own food with the money my mother gives me when we see each other."
"I never lived as a recluse"
The teenager defends his past lifestyle: "Seen like this, you would think that I was living like a vampire. This is absolutely false! I have never lived in seclusion. I was participating in Pokémon card tournaments, for example. It is in this kind of places that I made friends of my age, "says the young man who boasts a "very rich environment" embellished with visits to "antique dealers" and "booksellers". Activities he says he loves.
While the teenager has never been to school, which is nevertheless mandatory in France from 3 to 16 years old, Le Figaro notes that he "expresses himself without any difficulty, in a vocabulary that seems much richer and more varied than that of teenagers of his age". Her mother had opted for homeschooling, without ever having asked or obtained the necessary permission.
'An uncertain future'
He lives his placement in a home as a painful experience marked by "racketeering, violence and insults from other children", regrets the 14-year-old who "prefers to stay in his room and read books" in order to avoid humiliation. He says he does not understand "where child protection is in this story" and "sees an uncertain future", the home being "a factory of failure".
The mother has been under judicial supervision since the removal of custody of her child pending her trial, scheduled for 5 October. Targeted by an investigation for "evasion by a parent of his legal obligations compromising the health, safety, morality or education of his child", as well as for "deprivation of care or maintenance", she faces up to seven years in prison and a fine of 100,000 euros.
