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French man faces third trial in long-running paedophilia ring case

The Outreau affair - named after French seaside town where the participants lived - rocked France when it first hit the headlines in 2001.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

A 33-year-old French man went on trial for the third time on Tuesday in a controversial paedophilia case that has dragged on for 14 years and seen only four of the 17 accused convicted, reports RFI.

Daniel Legrand has been acquitted of offences allegedly committed after his 18th birthday but now answers charges relating to when he was a minor.

The Outreau affair - named after the northern French seaside town where the participants lived - rocked France when it hit the headlines in 2001.

What started with two boys accusing their parents of raping them culminated in a trial with 17 accused in the dock and claims of a paedophile ring involving as many as 70 people.

At the first trial in 2004 four of the accused, including the boys' parents - Thierry Delay and Myriam Badaoui - pleaded guilty and another three were convicted.

At the appeal in 2005 all 13 who claimed to be innocent were acquitted, leading to an official apology and 200,000 euros compensation for each of them.

But Daniel Legrand - whose father, also called Daniel, was also acquitted but has since died - was only tried then for offences alleged to have been committed after his 18th birthday in 1999.

Three of Delay and Badaoui's sons are sticking to their story and have the backing of an anti-paedophilia campaign and a magistrates' union.

Read more of this report from RFI.