A 10-year-old boy died in France after being sent by his African mother to live with strangers in a bid to be “reeducated,” only to be fatally beaten with a belt.
The man accused of delivering the blows, a 40-year-old Ivorian national named Gouassouh who was living in France illegally, is now standing trial at the Seine-et-Marne Assize Court in Melun for “violence resulting in death without intent” on a minor by a person in authority. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison.
As reported by Le Parisien, the boy, Aboubakar, had been living with his parents in Bondy, Seine-Saint-Denis. Concerned that he was becoming involved in drug-related activity, his mother decided to remove him from the environment and sent him to stay with a couple in Saint-Germain-Laval, over 100 kilometers away. The couple were not family members, although during the investigation, the mother falsely claimed they were Aboubakar’s uncle and aunt. She reportedly instructed them not to hesitate to physically punish her son if necessary.
Gouassouh, the man now on trial, had been living with the couple since 2012. He has no legal immigration status, no income, and no job. The presiding judge, Charles-Andor Fogarassy, expressed incredulity at the defendant’s situation, remarking: “You are welcomed by a family you vaguely know… You don’t work, you don’t have resources, you don’t have a diploma, and you’re in an irregular situation.”
Aboubakar arrived at the house on Aug. 30, 2017. On the first day of school, he reportedly told false stories about filming rap videos, dealing drugs, and engaging in sexual activity. His schoolteacher later confirmed that none of these claims were credible. Nevertheless, the adults convened a “family council,” including the boy’s mother by phone, and decided he would be punished. Initially, he was forced to bend and kneel. When the behavior continued the next day, Gouassouh took him to a garage while the couple were out shopping and beat him with a belt. He later admitted to hitting the child “from the shoulders to the ankles, always from the back.”
The abuse continued. On Sept. 6, 2017, the boy reportedly began banging his head in the bathroom. Gouassouh said he tried to soothe him with cream and gave him paracetamol, but the boy became unresponsive. The couple and Gouassouh rushed him to a hospital in Montereau-Fault-Yonne, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour after admission.
An autopsy revealed extensive bruising up to 25 centimeters in size. The belt used in the beating was allegedly thrown away and never recovered.
During the trial, Gouassouh’s defense attorney, Romuald Sayagh, requested further documentation, including the criminal records of Aboubakar’s biological parents, implying that others may have shared responsibility for the child’s fate.
Gouassouh was released during initial police investigations into the boy’s death, but has since spent a year in pre-trial detention.
The trial is expected to conclude on Friday.
The post Ivorian illegal on trial in France after 10-year-old boy sent to strangers by African mother to be ‘reeducated’ died from brutal belt beating appeared first on Remix News.
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