How Lyhanna’s murder case is shedding light on child abuse in France
The rape and murder of 11-year-old #Lyhanna exposed years of alleged police and judicial failures in #France .
By Hind Touissate
13 Jul 2026
This article contains details some readers may find distressing.
The case of Lyhanna, an 11-year-old girl raped and killed in the southwestern town of #Fleurance, has shaken France for more than a month, leading to protests calling for the protection of children and forcing the government to promise sweeping reforms on the issue.
Lyhanna went missing on May 29 after getting into a car with a man prosecutors claim was #JeromeBarella, the 41-year-old father of one of her schoolmates. Her body was found six days later in an abandoned grain silo. #Barella has been charged with abduction and unlawfully confining a minor and remains in pre-trial detention, though the cause of death has not been officially confirmed. He denies the charges.