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Victims Submit Final Complaints in Bétharram Abuse Case, Total Reaches 217

Survivors warn the underresourced Pau prosecutor’s office requires additional magistrates to proceed.

Alain Esquerre, porte-parole du collectif des victimes de Bétharram en avril dernier. Le collectif a déposé mercredi 23 juillet 2025 un septième et « probable dernier » corpus de 17 plaintes auprès du parquet du Pau.
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Quinze pères bétharramites et quatre laïcs sont visés par des plaintes, ainsi que trois anciens élèves, mineurs au moment des faits.

Overview

  • On July 23, the Collectif des victimes de Bétharram filed its seventh and likely final batch of 17 complaints with the Pau public prosecutor, bringing the total to 217.
  • Allegations cover physical violence, torture, sexual assault and rape by 15 priests (almost all deceased) and four lay staff at Notre-Dame de Bétharram between 1957 and 2004.
  • Only two of these complaints fell within the statute of limitations and led to a February 21 indictment of a former supervisor for sexual assault and rape of minors.
  • The collective has urged Prime Minister François Bayrou and judicial authorities to appoint more magistrates and investigators to accelerate the probe.
  • Only two detectives have been assigned to the sprawling inquiry, leaving dozens of complainants from earlier filings without interviews.