Nordahl Lelandais escapes indictment for rape

Nordahl Lelandais, the alleged murderer of little Maëlys escapes indictment in this part of the case, yet desired by the prosecutor's office in Grenoble.

The alleged murderer of little Maëlys, already indicted for the murder of the girl, escapes indictment for rape yet desired by the prosecution, according to a judicial source revealed by the AFP.
Nordahl Lelandais was placed Tuesday evening under the status of witness assisted by the investigating judges, at the end of his hearing at the Grenoble courthouse in the investigation into the possible rape of Maëlys De Araujo.

The status of assisted witness is legally placed between that of witness and that of indictment. Concretely, this means that there are clues that could lead to believe in his guilt. But this is a weaker presumption than in the event of an indictment, for which there must be " serious or concordant clues ” that could make the guilt of the accused likely, specifies the code of criminal procedure.

The girl was murdered at the end of August 2017 at the end of a wedding party in Pont-de-Beauvoisin (Isère). The Maëlys affair had aroused a national stir at the time, especially as Lelandais had subsequently been implicated in many other cases. The rape accusations come from a co-detainee. The latter had affirmed before the judges in 2018 that Lelandais had confessed to him to have raped the little Maëlys. Lelandais has always denied. The former dog handler is also indicted for sexual assault on three little cousins. He will also face a trial for the murder in April 2017 of Corporal Arthur Noyer, then 23.

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