Overview
- Proceedings began Monday in the Nantes criminal court for a two-day trial over alleged assaults in Rezé between 2017 and 2019 involving 12 nursery pupils and one girl now aged 11.
- The defendant, 60, appears free under judicial control and faces a potential ten-year prison sentence.
- He denies every allegation, calling them inventions, declaring "I am not a pedophile," acknowledging he was too close to children, and arguing he is judged more harshly because he is a man.
- The case centers on concordant testimonies from children and psychological evaluations noting post-traumatic symptoms, with a court-appointed psychiatrist stating such trauma cannot be feigned.
- Prior to the 2019 complaints, colleagues had reported "too tactile" behavior and a parent filed a 2018 police note, and families have criticized the municipality’s earlier response.