The case that brought people to the streets in France: An 11-year-old girl, killed by a man who had been reported nine months ago, but not investigated

An entire community gathered in the town of Fleurance for the funeral of Lyhanna, who was killed two weeks ago in southwestern France, according to the BBC. The case has also raised many question marks related to the work of the police.

During the funeral, aldermen from across the Gers region called on people to gather in front of town halls, where flags were flown at half mast, to show their support for the 11-year-old's family.

Lyhanna's murder sparked outrage across France after it emerged that the main suspect in the case, 41-year-old Jérôme Barella, had been reported to police nine months earlier. He was accused of allegedly repeatedly sexually abusing a 10-year-old child, but investigators never questioned him once.

In addition to the denunciation in France, the American authorities had sent an alert to the French police, according to the newspaper Le Monde. Barella's online activity suggested he may have accessed images of child sexual abuse.

French police only discovered the American alert after conducting a search of Barella's name following his arrest last week. France's National Office for Minors (OFMIN) said the signal was received in 2023 and was considered “weak”. The office said it receives about 300,000 signals each year.

At the same time, new allegations of a sexual nature have emerged targeting not only Barella, but also his father and brother. On Wednesday, the brother of the suspect in the case of the little girl's murder was put under investigation for rape, following complaints filed by two women, one of whom was a minor at the time of the alleged crime. The other woman is his former partner.

He was detained this week when he went to the police to file a defamation complaint. He denies the allegations against him.

The family's father, Joel Barella, 71, is also under investigation. Prosecutors in Béziers this week reopened a case from 2019, in which he is accused of sexually abusing his partner's niece. A second niece made similar allegations in the French press. He also denied the facts.

Jérôme Barella's daughter was friends with Lyhanna. The victim was seen in the suspect's car on the Friday of her disappearance after leaving school. The man was arrested three days later and the girl's body was found on a nearby farm eight days after she disappeared.

Abuse alerts ignored by police

The case turned into a national scandal as France realized the extent of the official blunders that let Barella go free.

He had already been identified in three separate cases of sexual abuse when he was reported last August for the alleged rape of a 10-year-old girl named Rosa. The medical examination confirmed the girl's claims. However, representatives of the judiciary and the gendarmes acted slowly, and for the next nine months Barella was not contacted.

Public concern over how the French justice system deals with sex crimes against women and minors is growing.

Paris City Hall has denied allegations of negligence after several school assistants were accused of sexual abuse. In the same week, singer Patrick Bruel was investigated for rape and sexual assault, charges he denies.

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin resisted calls to resign. An opinion poll conducted on Friday showed that two-thirds of those surveyed believe he should remain in office.

He asserted that the mistakes made were not the result of a lack of resources or personnel in the judiciary. The minister claimed the errors arose from a failure to prioritize a serious case.

National protests and changes to laws

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has promised to toughen laws by extending prison sentences for child rapists. He also promised to set a deadline for investigating complaints of sexual abuse of minors.

Activist groups, however, are demanding a law covering sexual violence against women and children, as well as a budget of 2.7 billion euros for its enforcement. They announced that they will organize protests in front of courts across the country every Monday.