A former teacher from Montpellier has just been sentenced to prison for having sex with one of his students when he was 14 years old. A situation that must be correctly named.
This Friday, January 8, 2021, a former teacher from Montpellier was sentenced to three years in prison. He was tried before the criminal court for sexual assault and corruption of a 14-year-old minor, one of his students. At the time of the facts, she was in 4th grade, and he, her teacher, was 36 years old. A "relationship" which lasted two years, and which ended in September 2017, when the father of the student discovered child pornography and sadomasochistic photos of his daughter on his computer. He immediately complained.
But while we are dealing with a crime, this minor infringement is described as "sincere liaison" by France Blue, or "sulphurous bond" speak Free Midi. A way to romanticize the facts and maintain the myth of the Lolita which seduces an adult man, rather than analyzing a relationship of domination close to child crime.
A "relationship" which is in fact an offense
A scandalous name, since it understates a criminal offense. Although the complainant and her lawyer, Iris Christol, insist on the consenting nature of the "relationship", it remains nonetheless abusive. The point is that a teacher, or someone with authority over others, in this case, her minor student, has used her relationship of domination in order to have sexual relations with her. An abuse of power that is not romantic, or sulphurous, but which is akin to an offense under the law.
Especially since, again according to her lawyer, the teenager's life at the time only confirmed the abusive nature of this affair. The young girl seemed to be going through a difficult time. His father had also confided the difficulties of the latter to the teacher, who had replied "Trust me, I'll take care of itr ", says Iris Christol. "You can imagine that he suffocated when he discovered the nature of their relationship. He experienced this affair as a huge betrayal.", she added.
It is therefore a question of the diversion of a minor by an adult in a position of authority, and not of a love story. As the complainant's lawyer recalls: "She consented to it but she was led to it. It is up to the adult to set limits on a teenager who may be in demand, who does not measure the consequences of the behaviors she will have.". The man is also banned for five years from exercising any activity in connection with minors, and will be entered in the judicial file of perpetrators of sexual offenses. For his part, the former student, aged 19 today, recognizes according to his lawyer "that this story might have been better not to exist." If we cannot change the facts, only on the media side, they must be named as they should.