5-year-old child seriously injured in a schoolyard in 2013 in Bourg-des-Comptes: the mayor released

The Criminal Court of Rennes has pronounced the release of Christian Leprêtre, the mayor of Bourg des Comptes. While he was first deputy and replaced the then mayor Pierre Dano during his leave, a dramatic accident took place at the public school in the town. On June 22, 2013, during the end-of-year party, a 5-year-old child, Lucas, enrolled in the establishment’s kindergarten, was seriously injured.

While running, dressed as Spider-man, the high school student had hit a metal rod sticking out of the fence. The 40cm long piece of metal had gone under his eye socket and then deep into his brain. The child had been found lifeless by his mother and covered in blood. A full-time four-month hospitalization followed. Then a four-year day hospitalization. Today, the 15-year-old teenager, educated in 3rd grade without having repeated a year, follows weekly neuropsychology sessions and suffers from “dizziness” and “cognitive disorders”.

One year in prison initially required

The whole debate before the Rennes Criminal Court on Tuesday was whether the first deputy at the time and the school life assistant had committed a serious fault that did not prevent the accident. Was the information in their possession sufficient to make them react and therefore to prevent the accident? The court answered “no” for the former first deputy defended by lawyer Frédéric Birrien. “The oral information available to Mr. Leprêtre was not enough for him to be fully aware of the danger run by the students”, explained Jean-Philippe Reverseau, president of the court during the deliberation. He was therefore released while Pierre Chuchkoff, the prosecutor, had requested a one-year suspended prison sentence against him and 8,000 euros in damages.

“The problem was known”

The deliberation was not so lenient with the former school life assistant, now retired and without an elective mandate. She was given a six-month suspended prison sentence and 2,000 euros in damages. “During the year that had just passed, the technical services had been called eight times to cut iron rods that were coming out, recalled Fabienne Michelet, the lawyer for the Lucas family. The problem was known. It had been going on for four years! The director called the technical services herself! Three days before the tragedy, another student at the school had suffered a cheek injury. His father had moved to the town hall to point out the seriousness of the facts. The day before the tragedy, the director had also gone to the town hall and had filed a letter asking the municipality to act. The only public school in the town is 220 m from the town hall, the deputy did not move. And the mail, she read it and put it back in her bunk thinking that the problem had to be dealt with. “Frédéric Birrien could appeal the conviction of the former elected.