The Walloon Brabant Assize Court met in Nivelles on Monday afternoon to draw lots for jurors for a trial due to start on Thursday. Five women and seven men will make up the jury.
The case, which is scheduled to last a week, concerns acts of torture, inhuman treatment and intentional assault and battery committed in July 2021 on a five-year-old girl. The accused, a resident of Genappe born in 1991, is the godfather of the young victim, whom he took in temporarily in July 2021.
He is suspected of having kept the little girl in a bath of very hot water, causing her to suffer burns that required three months’ hospitalisation, including more than a month in intensive care. The defendant denies the charges.
In addition to the twelve jurors selected by lots, the Assize Court also appointed four alternate jurors – two men and two women – at the request of the public prosecutor.
The accused will be defended by Maîtres Thierry Bayet and Bernard Clément, while Charlotte Arnould will defend the interests of the civil parties. The prosecution will be supported by public prosecutor Yves Moreau.
