For the first time, a sexual assault results in a conviction despite the statute of limitations

This is a great first case in the case of a sexual assault trial. On Monday, November 28, José Bruneau de la Salle, a stable manager accused of sexual assault on a minor, was sentenced. According to BFM extensionthe facts, however, were prescribed. The explanation lies in the fact that the 82-year-old man was tried in civil and not criminal court. However, in civil matters, the concept of limitation does not apply in the same way.

Prescription calculation

In the eyes of criminal justice, the statute of limitations for sexual offenses applies 20 years after the crimes were committed. In the case of Jérémy Garamond, now 46, who claims he was touched by José Bruneau de la Salle when he was between 12 and 15, the criminal appeal could therefore not be successful. But civil justice does not calculate the statute of limitations in the same way. The prescription starts from the “consolidation of the victim”, ie when the state of health of the latter is stabilized or when he is healed.

In the case of Jérémy Garamond, a psychiatrist’s report not only attested to his trauma, but also to the fact that the complainant had been traumatized until 2018, the year in which he filed a complaint for the first time, demonstrating that he can now face the his aggression. To date, the statute of limitations is therefore only 4 years.

A case that sets a precedent

Turning to a civil court, Jérémy Garamond therefore did not file a complaint for a crime or an offense, but for a “fault” which “caused damage”. Although found guilty, his abuser therefore does not incur the same penalties as those applied by a criminal court. José Bruneau de la Salle will not go to prison and this sentence will not be recorded in his file, but he will have to pay the reparations. Jérémy Garamond is asking for 103,000 euros.

But against José Bruneau de la Salle an investigation is still underway, for facts this time not prescribed. Grégory Pieux, son of famous jockey Christophe Pieux, also filed a complaint in 2018 for sexual assaults committed when he was a minor.

The civil court’s decision is still a big victory for Jérémy Garamond and perhaps other victims of sexual assault, because this case could set a precedent. “Today anyone who has been a victim of sexual violence which would be prescribed in judicial and criminal terms, can now attack in civil proceedings”welcomed Jérémy Garamond on the microphone of FM TV.

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