After the Lyhanna case: nearly 1,000 files on sexual violence against minors to be given priority

Paris – 16.07.2026: Nearly seven weeks after the death of eleven-year-old Lyhanna in the southern French department of Gers, the French judiciary is presenting an initial assessment of its large-scale case review. According to Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, 69,626 criminal and investigative case files have been reassessed. In addition, around 15,000 further reports are said to have been registered during the review.

At the center are allegations of sexual violence against minors. The offices of the prosecutors general and investigative services were required to identify cases in which particularly urgent action might be necessary: for example, because suspects may have come to attention again, because investigations had made no progress for a long time, or because potential victims may still need protection. The ministry ordered the review at the beginning of June and set a deadline of July 14.

The result is sobering and at the same time concrete: 970 case files have been classified as priority cases. This corresponds to just over one percent of the reviewed files. The locally competent public prosecutors’ offices must now determine for these cases which investigations are missing, whether new decisions are needed, and which protective measures for presumed victims may be required. Prioritization means neither proof of guilt nor a prior conviction of the suspects.

According to franceinfo, the cases now reviewed again include that of a man against whom two of his nephews had made allegations of rape. The proceedings are said not to have been pursued sufficiently for years. Further details about those involved, the location, and the current status of the proceedings have not been officially published. In such allegations, the presumption of innocence applies, while potential victims must at the same time receive special protection.

The trigger for the nationwide action was the Lyhanna case. The girl disappeared after school on May 29 in Fleurance; on June 1, a man was placed in pretrial detention in connection with the abduction and unlawful confinement of a child under the age of 15. According to a preliminary report by the Ministry of Justice, the accused person had previously been mentioned in three proceedings involving sexual offenses.

The case had raised questions far beyond Gers about the work of the police, gendarmerie, and public prosecutors’ offices. The number of priority cases now presented shows how large the backlog in individual proceedings may be. However, it does not yet answer the question of whether shortcomings will be clarified everywhere and what consequences the judiciary will draw from them in each case.

Darmanin announced that he would discuss the situation separately with all 36 prosecutors general. At the same time, the government has announced further measures to protect children. For the families behind the case files, the main concern now is that the review leads to swift, careful, and traceable investigations.