Catholic school abuse scandal: church has already compensated 16 victims
A criminal investigation into events at the Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram private school in south-west France is continuing. Meanwhile Mediapart can reveal that sixteen victims of sexual violence committed by religious figures at the Catholic institution have already been compensated over allegations that are now time-barred under the criminal law. There are also discussions taking place about whether and how this approach of acknowledging abuse and paying compensation can also be extended to victims of laypeople connected to the school. At the same time, prime minister François Bayrou continues to insist that he was never informed about abuse at the institution, which is in his political fiefdom. David Perrotin and Antton Rouget report.
TheThe scandal of alleged child sex abuse at the Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram private Catholic school in south-west France shows no sign of abating, and the flow of fresh criminal complaints continues. On February 27th, Alain Esquerre, founder of the collective for victims of Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram, handed over a new batch of 40 statements to public prosecutor Rodolphe Jarry at the court in nearby Pau. In 22 cases these accounts involve allegations of physical violence and in 18 cases sexual violence, all at the hands of staff members at the Catholic institution.
