lyhanna case
Jérôme Barella could have been arrested weeks before Lyhanna’s death. A courageous testimony from an 11-year-old girl about inappropriate behavior by the forty-year-old ended up on the desk of the Auch public prosecutor’s office in March, but remained without consequences, according to French media. BFMTV reports this based on court documents.
Journalist at HLN
It concerns a girl who is staying in youth care. BFMTV calls her Léa, but keeps her real name hidden. In February, she told a counselor about events that allegedly happened months earlier during a sleepover with the Barella family. According to her statement, Jérôme Barella allegedly behaved inappropriately while staying the night with his daughter.
“In her statement she says that during the overnight stay she noticed that Mr. Barella was behind her, at the level of her buttocks,” according to BFMTV in the report from the French youth care service, which was submitted to the judiciary on March 12. “According to her statement, he performed actions that she describes as inappropriate, without any physical contact.”
On May 29, eleven-year-old Lyhanna disappeared. According to French authorities, she then got into the car of Barella, who is considered the main suspect in the investigation. Her body was found in a grain silo on June 4, fifteen kilometers from her home.
Léa also described a second incident during a water fight. “She states that Mr. Barella pressed himself against her at a window in a very inappropriate way. That made her feel uncomfortable.” The girl remained silent for months out of fear. Only after a conversation at school about bullying did she dare to tell her story to an educator. According to her supervisors, she was afraid that adults would not believe her or would reprimand her.
Reported but never heard
According to BFMTV, the report was forwarded to the Auch public prosecutor’s office and to the CRIP, the French service for alarming reports involving minors. Yet the girl would never have been interrogated by the police or the judiciary afterwards. It is currently unclear whether an investigation was opened at the time.
The case is now receiving extra attention due to Lyhanna’s death. French media suggest that a quick response to Léa’s testimony could have led to Barella’s arrest before Lyhanna disappeared.
According to BFMTV, Léa would still be interrogated by investigators today, in the presence of an educator and her lawyer.