It is “above all a relief”, declared Evaëlle’s mother on BFMTV.
With her husband, she reacted this Friday morning to the referral to correctional facilities of a teacher, accused of having “degraded the living conditions” of their daughter.
The 11-year-old schoolgirl committed suicide in 2019 after months of harassment at her school.
It is “above all a relief, because without this decision there is no trial, so we really feel heard, recognized,” explains the mother, Marie.
There is also a "satisfaction all the same, we didn't do all that for nothing (...) So yes, a relief, a first relief", she declares, recalling that we will still have to wait several months before the holding of the trial.
Suicide of Evaëlle: “We really feel heard” says Marie Dupuis, mother of Evaëlle pic.twitter.com/UcVexHjM3U
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) March 22, 2024
“That was the objective, to arrive at the judgment.
So we are very satisfied that this is happening,” Sébastien, the little girl’s father, had already declared this Friday on RMC, recalling that Evaëlle “went through hell”.
According to him, the harassment “started with this French teacher who very quickly isolated her, who systematically argued with her in every lesson, who isolated her in the class, put her as far back as possible… The "The teacher initiated this harassment, which the students subsequently took up."
The teacher is, among other things, accused of having “regularly humiliated” Evaëlle in front of her class and of having “isolated her at the back” of the room, the judge wrote in her order.
All of these behaviors had “the effect of a very significant deterioration in the living conditions of the young girl, who isolated herself more and more”.
The professor “firmly refutes”
“I would like to emphasize that my client's initial involvement in the tragic death of Evaëlle has been completely ruled out,” noted for her part Me Marie Roumiantseva, counsel for the teacher, now 61 years old.
Indeed, in the order issued by the judge, the qualification of involuntary homicide is the subject of a dismissal.
On the other hand, the professor “firmly refutes” the accusations of moral harassment.
The teacher is also accused of having harassed two other middle school students and obtained a dismissal of charges for a fourth student.
Since 2021, the teacher can no longer teach minors and has an obligation to provide psychological care.
Three teenagers were initially prosecuted for having harassed Evaëlle.
One benefited from a dismissal of the case and two were referred to the juvenile court for harassment of a minor.