Sexual abuse in Paris after-school care: 35-year-old youth worker goes on trial

A Paris after-school care worker has gone on trial over allegations that he sexually assaulted young children under his supervision and harassed co-workers, in a case feeding into a wider citywide scandal over child protection.

The public hearing opened in Paris on May 26. According to reporting from the case, the defendant is accused of abusing children aged three to five while supervising them in bathrooms, during lunch and in after-school care. Reports differ on the exact number of alleged child victims and on the defendant’s age, but the case is the second related trial in the broader scandal.

The allegations have added to pressure on Paris officials, who have faced protests and demands for stronger safeguards in schools and after-school programs. The city has already announced a new action plan on violence against children and a citizen convention on child protection and school time.

The trial is part of a larger reckoning over oversight in Paris child-care settings, where officials are now being pushed to show how they will prevent further abuse and improve reporting and supervision.

Wider fallout

The case follows earlier reporting and related proceedings tied to the same scandal, which has drawn public anger and renewed scrutiny of the systems meant to protect young children in after-school care.