Near Toulouse. Mothers of abused young footballers denounce: “the club refused to open their eyes”
Through Laurent Derne
Published on
“They did not deliberately cover up a pedophile: they just refused to open their eyes.” Isabelle, 58 years old, Helen, 55 years old, and Maryline, 49, share an insidious pain. Their children were playing Soccer Al ‘Etoile Aussonnaise when they have been abused by the same sports educator.
Coach, physiotherapist, doctor, nanny, taxi …
“This man arrived at the club in 2005. He came from TAC (Toulouse Athletic Club). In most small clubs like ours, we lack qualified coaches. Volunteers are precious. When he wasn’t training, he was physiotherapist, doctor, nanny, taxi … He knew how to make himself indispensable, ”recalls the trio of mothers.
The result, the unspeakable, leads to the depths of the human soul. In its most abject darkness. The handyman today 55 years, secretly assaults some boys in the privacy of the changing rooms. Or in favor of stages he organized every year in Spain. “Justice explained to us that he was an ephébophile. Its target are boys who have already been trained, between 15 and 17 years old ”.
He was filming the scenes with his connected watch
When the case broke, in 2019, the Toulouse-Mirail gendarmerie company records 23 complaints. The tongues are starting to loosen. Parents are amazed:
“We learned that he shaved the pubis of our children with a clipper. He practiced acts of masturbation, fellatio, and during the search of his home, 230 videos were seized”.
With its connected watch, the attacker immortalized the scenes, “taking care never to film the faces”.
Maryline: “My son went into a spin when he was a teenager”
“My son was taken by surprise at the end of a game. He let his hair comb in the shower. The coach asked him if he wanted him to shave his cock. He started to masturbate him. He stopped when the phone rang, ”Isabelle unfolds. Her son extricates himself from this situation by announcing that his mother is arriving. “He didn’t tell me anything and did what the doctors call a traumatic amnesia “.
Maryline mentions her two sons. “The oldest had total amnesia. The youngest is party in town during teenagehood “. When the coach attacked him, his parents were going through a painful separation. “He got hold of him, Posed as a surrogate father. He developed a take psychologically. When my son realized that this was not normal, he felt ashamed and destroyed himself ”.
Hélène: “I blame myself for not having seen anything”
Civilian business manager, the ubiquitous volunteer of nature touch more particularly directed his perverse inclinations in the direction of corn keepers. “His youngest known victim was 11, the oldest under 20”. Several years later, Hélène blames herself for “not having seen anything for (s) our son”.
“I felt he was closer to some children than others. He gave them gifts all the time. Lawnmowers, gloves, shorts … When he was arrested, I was wrong. to tell my son that if he had touched him, I would kill this man. He did not dare to tell me about it, for fear that I would do something stupid. But at the time of the trial, he collapsed “.
8 years in prison
In 2020, the educator who acknowledged the facts – “and confessed at the hearing that there were other victims” (one perhaps, editor’s note) – was sentenced to 8 years in prison for aggravated sexual assault. Son genetic profile has been integrated into the FIJAIS (Automated judicial file of perpetrators of sexual or violent offenses).
“It is also the subject of a duty of care and a 5-year socio-judicial follow-up at the end of his sentence, “whisper the mothers. But their fight is elsewhere now. They denounce the inertia of the president and the office. And demand their resignation “to start again on a sound basis”.
Multiple alarm signals ignored
“As early as 2009, the women’s coach had an incident traced to the club office. He had wanted to enter the locker room and had found door closed. When he had opened, the aggressor is alone, bare chested, in the company of a boy. The president had suggested that he discuss it directly with the person concerned, without assuming his responsibilities ”.
The first alarm signal in a long list noted by the judge in charge of the case, in his referral order :
“Investigations have started to establish that, despite several alerts, the club leaders have taken no steps to prevent the occurrence of the facts in question. Obviously because of the strong involvement [du mis en cause] within the club, which had become practically essential to the functioning of this one.
The Colossus association with feet of clay to support
“On the day of the trial, I took the liberty of telling the president’s wife, who also belongs to the office, that I don’t understand that they are still in place. That out of respect for the victims, it was their duty to resign. She replied that it was impossible. That if they resigned that meant they were guilty. They do not understand. They consider themselves victims. What is sad is that neither of them was aware thatan adult does not have the right to touch the sex of a child ”, plague one of the angry moms.
From support groups were created by the victims, most of whom became young adults. Brothers and sisters, parents and former coaches come together there. “Everyone talks to each other, supports each other”.
Recognized as being of public utility, the Colossus association with clay feet, which educates and educates about the risks of sexual violence, of hazing and of harassment in sport, accompany them. Its founder, Sébastien Boueilh, a former rugby player, suffered rape as a teenager on the sidelines of his training.
“Due to our children”
This ” emotional tsunami “ – carrying her “murderous urges” – transformed the lives of the three mothers. “We use our pain so that this type of sexual violence no longer be a taboo, that people be alerted and that they be able to intervene, as this can happen in any club in the area. And football is not the only sport concerned, ”says Isabelle.
Their goal is clear: “We don’t want the club to die or be tagged, but just a renewal of the office. The current leaders of the Etoile Aussonnaise must resign (contacted, the president did not respond to our requests, editor’s note). We will not let go. Whatever the cost. Due to our children ”.
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