Former priest Bernard Preynat, convicted of sexual assault on minors, died at the age of 79

Bernard Preynat, 79, sentenced in March 2020 to five years in prison for sexual assault on minors, was found dead on Sunday June 23 in Saint-Etienne (Loire). This former priest was found lifeless in his bathroom, the Saint-Etienne prosecutor’s office told AFP, confirming information from BFM Lyon. He was released under an electronic bracelet “since a few weeks”, assured the prosecution. An investigation into the causes of death has been opened. “even if there is nothing suspicious on his body, which will be examined by a forensic doctor within a few days”according to this same source.

Bernard Preynat was sentenced to prison for countless sexual assaults committed between 1971 and 1991 on scouts aged 7 to 15 while he was chaplain of Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon (Rhône). During his trial, prosecutor Dominique Sauves accused him of having “broken” lives and being “served by the silence of parents and the silence of the Church” to multiply its abuses. One of the lawyers for the civil parties estimated the number of attacks between 3,000 and 4,000.

Maintained in office by the diocese of Lyon until the fall of 2015 even though his actions had been known for a long time, Bernard Preynat asked for forgiveness from the nine victims who came to testify to their suffering. Many others were unable to file a complaint due to the statute of limitations. After giving up his appeal, he was incarcerated in 2021 at the Saint-Etienne-La Talaudière penitentiary center.

The former chaplain was only defrocked in 2019 following a canonical trial, a very late decision in the eyes of the victims, a symbol of the Church’s unease in the face of this affair which led to the fall of the cardinal Philippe Barbarin. Convicted in 2019 for his silence following a resounding trial, the former archbishop of Lyon was acquitted on appeal. However, he preferred to resign from the diocese and is today chaplain in Brittany.