France: Heavy prison sentences for a couple after the death of their baby

The Haute-Corse Assize Court on Friday sentenced the parents of a four-and-a-half-month-old baby who died in January 2021, with the father receiving a 15-year prison sentence for violence resulting in death without intent to kill.

The mother was sentenced to five years in prison, two of which were suspended, for failing to report the abuse. The father was also convicted of intentionally abusing their son over several weeks before his death.

Photos given to investigators by the grandmother after the baby's death, showing bruises on the victim's face and body between October 2020 and January 2021, were shown at the trial.

The infant's death was confirmed on January 29, 2021, in Nice. Transferred to intensive care at the city's pediatric hospital, he presented with an intracranial hemorrhage and massive cerebral edema. All medical expert reports agree that these injuries resulted from "non-accidental human intervention."

The dating of the violence highlighted by an expert corresponds to a time when the father was alone with his son in the couple's accommodation located in Calenzana (Haute-Corse).

Two reports mention an episode of shaking the baby, while a counter-medical expert report mentions a head injury.

The 36-year-old man denied the charges while his lawyer pleaded for acquittal: "I loved my son, I always did what I could," he said in his final statement to the jury.

The mother's defense also requested an acquittal. The court ruled that the custodial portion of her sentence should be served without waiting for a possible appeal.

The prosecuting attorney, who had requested a 15-year prison sentence for the father and a 5-year sentence for the mother, emphasized during the hearing that "all the evidence and expert reports will convince you of Loïc J.'s guilt for the acts of violence." "Manon S. knew what was happening and she said nothing," she added.

They were free at the time of the trial which began on Monday. They had been released in 2021 after 23 days of pre-trial detention, following a procedural flaw and an administrative error by the Bastia Court of Appeal.