French ministers meet on Tuesday to discuss child protection issues in response to the Lyhanna case, with a view to introducing new legislative measures, according to a statement from Matignon.
The meeting will incorporate these measures through amendments to an existing child protection bill. It will involve all ministers who have to do with child protection.
In a letter released on Monday evening by his office, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu stated that he would like the government to “immediately add several measures to the bill,” which was presented to the Council of Ministers in late May and is scheduled to be considered by Parliament in July.
He specifically mentioned “harsher penalties for serial rape, changes to the statute of limitations, keeping victims informed throughout the proceedings, and the need to provide justification for decisions to dismiss cases involving sexual crimes and offences.”
Lyhanna (11) went missing on 29 May after leaving school in Fleurance, France. She was last seen getting into the car of a friend’s father, 41-year-old Jérôme Barella, after classes on the same day.
After a massive search, her body was found seven days later in an abandoned agricultural silo about 15 kilometers from Fleurance.
Barella was arrested and charged with kidnapping and unlawful confinement of a minor under 15.
