PARIS (AP) \u2014 Parents\u2019 groups in France called Tuesday for more attention to long-ignored child abuse scandals as a rare public trial opened of a school assistant accused of sexually assaulting nine small children in Paris.<\/p>\n
Inspired by Gis\u00e8le Pelicot<\/a> \u2019s decision to make her harrowing drug and rape trial<\/a> public, the parents of the children agreed to open the proceedings. In France, trials involving minors are usually held behind closed doors.<\/p>\n According to their lawyers, some parents said they were following the example of Pelicot and her motto that \u201cshame must change sides\u201d to abusers, not victims.<\/p>\n The Paris case emerged in April 2025 after several children told their parents they allegedly had been sexually abused at a nursery school.<\/p>\n The defendant, 36, who has not been publicly identified, is accused of assaulting children while supervising them in bathrooms, during lunch breaks and in after-school care between August 2024 and April 2025. He has denied any sexual abuse against children.<\/p>\n The children were between 3 and 5 years old at the time. They do not have to attend the trial. A judge has read their testimonies to investigators.<\/p>\n The defendant is also accused of sexually harassing two co-workers and sexually assaulting one of them. He faces up to 10 years in prison. His lawyer would not speak with The Associated Press before the trial.<\/p>\n Barka Zerouali, co-founder of parents\u2019 group MeToo Ecole, or MeToo School, said at a protest outside the courthouse that \u201cthere needs to be a national wake-up call at some point.\u201d Protesters carried a banner reading: \u201cBecause no child should be afraid to go to school.\u201d<\/p>\n Families said the trauma of the alleged assaults was compounded by what they described as a struggle to be taken seriously by authorities. An initial warning raised by a mother months earlier was apparently ignored by the school.<\/p>\n Rebecca Royer, a lawyer representing several families, said that \u201cwhat we are expecting is a real turning point in child protection, meaning we expect the government and municipalities to implement real measures to protect children, but also to provide real resources.\u201d<\/p>\n Similar cases in Paris and across France have drawn media attention in recent months.<\/p>\n Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau last week said investigations were underway involving 84 nursery schools, about 20 elementary schools and about 10 daycare centers in the capital.<\/p>\n Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gr\u00e9goire said 78 school and after-school staff members have been suspended in the city since the beginning of 2026, including 31 over suspicions of sexual violence.<\/p>\n While teachers in France are employed by the government in state-run schools, school assistants and after-school activity leaders are hired by city authorities.<\/p>\n Gr\u00e9goire, elected in March, has made combating child abuse an \u201cabsolute priority\u201d and unveiled a 20 million euro ($22 million) plan to address what he described as \u201cmajor dysfunction\u201d in the city\u2019s school supervision system. He pledged to immediately suspend any school employee suspected of abusing children.<\/p>\n