LE HAVRE, France – In a recent case in Le Havre, France, a group of five teenagers, aged 15 to 16, were found guilty of participating in a violent assault on a teenage girl that was streamed on social media. The assault involved group violence, death threats, and the filming and distribution of pornographic images of minors through social media networks.
The court reached its verdict after a nearly 10-hour closed hearing, determining that the perpetrators had streamed the attack on social media, which included showing the victim partially nude. According to Elisa Haussetete, the lawyer for one of the defendants, the group nature of the attack escalated the violence and served as the driving force behind the brutal assault.
The convicted teens have expressed sincere regret for their actions, and there will be no appeal. Sentencing is scheduled for September, with four of the attackers under judicial supervision and unable to leave the Seine-Maritime region, while the fifth remains in a closed educational center. They are also prohibited from contacting the victim or her family.
In addition, some of the teens had previously been accused of assaulting another 14-year-old girl the day before the attack, and that case will be heard at a later date.
This incident comes amid a larger conversation about bullying in French schools, which affects one in 10 students, according to the government. Former French prime minister Elisabeth Borne announced a plan to address the issue in September 2023, following a series of suicides by schoolchildren who were harassed online. Education minister Gabriel Attal emphasized that the fight against school harassment is an “absolute priority” as part of the plan.
Despite the prevalence of online attacks, complaints are rare, with only six percent of victims reporting such incidents to the authorities, according to a 2022 report from the French interior ministry. The case in Le Havre underscores the urgent need for measures to address and prevent such acts of violence and exploitation on social media.