The spokesperson for the victims’ collective announces that he will file new complaints from former students of the Catholic boarding school, for accusations of physical violence and sexual assault.
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Forty new complaints will be filed in the case of sexual violence at Notre-Dame de Bétharram, in Lestelle-Bétharram (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), reports France Bleu Béarn Bigorre, Friday April 12. These complaints are in addition to the 33 already filed.
These new complaints come from former students of the Catholic boarding school of the private institution. Half of them concern facts of a sexual nature, according to information from “Pyrénées” that France Bleu has confirmed. The rest of the testimonies report acts of physical violence. The facts date back mainly to the 1980s and 1990s but regarding the new testimonies, the accusations of assault are more recent and concern the 2000s.
“Face this together”
For Alain Esquerre, former student of the establishment and spokesperson for the victims’ collective, it is about“acts of barbarity”. He mentions in particular the beating of students by a supervisor, or even “deprivation of going to the toilet”. Today he denounces the inaction of the Church on this subject: “The congregation must not be in denial. I think the right attitude is to be alongside the victims, to face this together. Because the fact of not intervening shows that there is there are always complicities taking place.”. Alain Esquerre particularly wants the boarding school archives to be opened, or even for the victims to be able to return to Bétharram in a reconstruction process.
In December 2023, he had filed 20 complaints, to which 13 more were added in February. An investigation has been open since February 1 led by the Pau gendarmerie.
