The Court of Appeal, in its decision of November 6, noted the “odious” nature of the comments made by the adolescents, but pointed out the absence of a “causal link” with the schoolboy’s suicide.
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The public prosecutor’s office of Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle) and the mother of Lucas, who committed suicide in January in the Vosges, announced Monday, November 13 to AFP that they would appeal to the Court of Cassation after the acquittal of the four schoolchildren accused of having harassed the teenager. The family’s lawyer, Catherine Faivre, said she had filed an appeal on the civil provisions. “The general prosecutor’s office has filed an appeal in cassation”for her part announced a spokesperson for the general public prosecutor’s office of the Nancy Court of Appeal.
At first instance, the court found the four minors guilty of harassment in June, but without considering the causal link between these facts and Lucas’ suicide. The Nancy Court of Appeal acquitted them on November 6. In her decision, she noted the character “odious” remarks which had been made by the defendants, two boys and two girls, “between September 1, 2022 and the beginning of October 2022”but she emphasizes “the absence of demonstrated effect” of these words “on Lucas’ mental health”and points out the absence of “causality link” with the suicide of the schoolboy, which occurred on January 7, 2023.
This decision constituted “a shock” for Lucas’ mother, according to Catherine Faivre. “The judicial system today does not respond to the reality experienced by victims of school bullying who must be protected”she lamented.