PARIS (AP) — French officials faced intense criticism Friday following the suspected murder of an 11-year-old girl, with authorities under fire for failing to properly handle prior sexual assault allegations against the man now in custody.
The search for Lyhanna, the young girl identified by law enforcement, has captured nationwide attention since she vanished following school on May 29 in southwest France.
Authorities described her last-seen outfit as a striped black-and-white shirt, dark shorts, and yellow socks featuring imagery from the Japanese anime “One Piece.”
Following nearly a week of intensive searching by law enforcement and community volunteers, officials revealed Thursday that a child’s remains wearing “similar clothes” had been discovered at a remote farm location in the Gers region of southwestern France. Medical examiners have been called to conduct an autopsy.
President Emmanuel Macron expressed his outrage over the case during a diplomatic trip to Montenegro Friday, breaking from his typical practice of avoiding domestic commentary while abroad. The president described feeling “shocked” and said the incident exposed serious flaws in France’s systems.
“Things didn’t happen as they should have done. That is clear. And so it is unacceptable,” Macron said. “We cannot look her family in the face and say everything went well.”
News outlets report that a 41-year-old suspect was observed outside Lyhanna’s school in Fleurance and later captured on security footage driving with the child. According to media accounts, the man claimed to investigators he left her near the town’s public pool.
Regional prosecutor Clémence Meyer revealed this week that the suspect had been the subject of numerous prior complaints from young victims and their families, including rape accusations.
One allegation involving the sexual assault of a child at the suspect’s residence in 2020 underwent investigation, including medical examinations and police questioning, but officials dismissed the case this year citing insufficient evidence, according to the prosecutor.
The man was already under active police investigation for separate rape allegations when Lyhanna disappeared. In that ongoing case, a child claims the suspect repeatedly assaulted her at his home during 2024 and 2025, with the case moving between different legal jurisdictions, the prosecutor explained.
Meyer noted that yet another minor came forward with rape allegations against the man just this week.
Government officials have initiated a formal review of the handling of these cases. Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin announced investigators will examine delays in transferring cases between jurisdictions, reliance on paper rather than digital communication, apparent police failures to follow directives, and “why we didn’t intervene despite many months of complaints against the man.”
“It’s completely unacceptable,” Darmanin stated Thursday. “We are all terrified by this malfunction.”
The minister said the case highlights “our poor organization and without doubt, the fact that at the Justice Ministry and elsewhere, we don’t take the words of children seriously.”
