In Finistère, some former students of the boarding school of the private college and high school of Likès, testified and spoke of dozens of attacks committed by a religious some fifty years ago.
On November 26, Ouest France published the testimony of a 62 year old man who explained that he had been the victim of sexual violence at the age of 11. After 50 years of silence, he would have decided to come back to the traumatic atrocities he would have experienced.
“I had just entered sixth grade. I was 11 years old. At 11, you’re still just a child. I was sexually assaulted by a brother who supervised the Likès boarding school in Quimper, where I went to school. It was in 1970. Like all boarders, we arrived on Sunday evening and slept in large dormitories. All the sixths were together, under the supervision of this religious who was also a teacher of manual education. During certain classes, in the workshop, he had black anger. This brother, whom I will not name, terrified all the students. One evening, after the lights went out, he came to get me. This is how he did it. He would choose his prey and take it to his room, a sort of box …”
Stories that accumulate
As a result of this testimony, other stories were revealed. Like the one published in Ouest France on November 30. A man claims to have had a similar journey in the same establishment and at the same time, in 1970. “When I read this testimony, I said to myself: this is my story. I was also sexually abused by this same brother in 1970 at the Likès boarding school. So I come out of the silence today to let it be known that we are dozens and dozens to be affected. I am far from being alonehe adds. “The brother who supervised the dormitory assaulted me several times after taking me to his room. He chose the least rebellious students, he had his favorites. ” the man said in a second testimony. Apparently, the brother who was also very violent used to beat the students in manual education class.
Actions ignored by management?
It seems that these actions were known to the management of the period. A former student says “than the management of the time could not ignore the situation. Besides, I believe that this brother went to Africa a few years later”. Other anonymous witnesses also told Ouest France that “the institution knew” and that the facts of the attacks were covered up. Apparently, this brother was protected by the boarding school between 1973 and 1981. “When I read the newspaper, I choked. He acted for years in full view of everyone and the lasallian network said he didn’t know him. Lies. I sent a letter to the commission for the reparation of sexual violence set up by the Conference of Religious of France (Corref). I’m waiting for an answer. I can’t let something like this go by.”