Darmanin refers Lyhanna case to judicial council
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on L’essentiel
French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has referred an Auch deputy prosecutor to the Conseil supérieur de la magistrature, accusing her in particular of failing to check Jérôme Barella’s record. Lyhanna, 11, was found dead on 4 June in Gers, according to AFP.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin accuses the Auch deputy prosecutor of failing to check the criminal record of Jérôme Barella, suspected of Lyhanna’s murder and rape, and of failing to organise an investigative meeting with the judicial police officer handling the case, according to AFP. The minister has referred the matter to the Conseil supérieur de la magistrature (CSM), which can examine magistrates’ disciplinary responsibilities.
Inspections of the justice system, gendarmerie and education had submitted their report nearly two months before the referral. They identified shortcomings in the handling of the proceedings, according to Gérald Darmanin, who considers that a lack of resources or personnel cannot explain them.
The report also established that the referral asking investigators to continue their investigations had been prepared by a judicial assistant, without informing the hierarchy. Neither this staff member nor the magistrate had consulted Cassiopée, the Justice database, even though Jérôme Barella was already listed there for a previous case of rape of a nine-year-old minor, which had been handled and dismissed without further action by the same magistrate.
Jérôme Barella had also been implicated in August 2025 by another girl, Rosa. The rape allegations, corroborated by a forensic medical examination, had not led to either police custody or questioning at the time, according to AFP. Lyhanna, an 11-year-old secondary school pupil, was found dead on 4 June in Gers.
