Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Documentaries, Netflix, True Life, Crime
Kya Buller
Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing
Earlier this week, Netflix dropped one of its most shocking true-crime documentaries to date.
The four-episode docuseries revisited one of the biggest scandals in French history, featuring both a tragic case of child abuse and unprecedented judicial disaster.
The Outreau Case: A French Nightmare quickly found itself in Netflix’s top ten most watched for the week and left viewers speechless.
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The content is so severe that the docuseries opens with a trigger warning: “This series contains depictions of sexual violence and domestic abuse.”
Between 1995 and 2000 in Outreau, Northern France, 12 children fell victim to heart-wrenching and prolonged sexual abuse.
The trials that followed took place in 2004 and 2005.
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The case had lasting impact on the victims and the town’s residents for the rest of their lives.
The Outreau Case has placed the French miscarriage of justice under a global spotlight once more.
Here's some information about the main people involved in the case, which, FYI, do contain spoilers...
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The entire documentary centres on Thierry Delay - a man accused of a long list of crimes including rape and child abuse of his own children and others.
His son tells the producers that he was beaten and would traumatise them whilst dressed up as a horror character.
The documentary states he forced his children to watch as he had sex with his wife, the mother of the children, and force them to watch porn.
Thierry was also found guilty of the desecration of graves in the years prior to the sexual abuse claims.
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Eventually, Thierry was sent to prison for 20 years.
Myriam was married to Thierry, and the sick couple had four sons together.
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Despite also being found guilty of abusing and raping children, it was Myriam who called social services to investigate her husband.
Her son, Jonathan, one of the victims, said in the documentary: “I think the only good thing she ever did was call social services.”
Myriam implicated a huge number of other people in the community, before admitting that she had lied.
She got 15 years in prison.
Fabrice was the examining magistrate of the case.
He attended police raids of homes, including that of Thierry and Myriam, and uncovered 160 porn tapes and 10 human skulls.
Pascale was another magistrate of the case, examining evidence.
During the documentary, she read out letters from the children victims which illustrate the depravity of the abuse they suffered.
Marie-Christine is a psychological expert, appointed to the Outreau case by Fabrice Burgaud.
It was her responsibility to surmise whether the children were telling the truth about their horrific experiences.
She concluded that they were.
Fabienne provided the legal counsel for Thierry and Myriam’s neighbour, David Deplanque, who was another suspect in the case.
He was charged, along with his girlfriend, of statutory rape.
David denied it but his girlfriend admitted the charge and confirmed that the children were telling the truth about their experiences.
Ultimately, the couple were jailed.
Laurent, a French journalist for La Voix du Nord, was the first person to report on the salacious crimes.
He visited the building where the abuse had allegedly been taking place, and noted that he could hear almost everything people were saying on each floor.
This led him to understand that there must have been many people involved in keeping the occurrences of paedophilia and abuse quiet.
Anne-Laure was another journalist reporting on the case.
She opened up about a round of arrests that ended in six people being taken to separate police precincts.
She further explained the eerie atmosphere in the town of Outreau at the time, as it felt like everybody was accusing each other of being involved in the scandal.
Olivier was a lawyer for Daniel Legrand Jr - another accused suspect in the case.
Daniel was initially adamant of his innocence, yet later wrote a confession of being involved in the crimes.
Olivier recounts Daniel’s time in court and who he made eye contact with during his testimony.
Ultimately, Daniel was cleared of any wrongdoing which was highly controversial at the time.
Stephane, a forensic doctor and named expert during the case, surveyed St.Omer - the site where many of these crimes are said to have taken place.
He recounted how devastating it was to have to watch young children take the stand.
The Outreau Case: A French Nightmare is now streaming on Netflix.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.