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Outreau case

OVERTURNED2001Outreau, Pas-de-Calais, France3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

The investigation began in November 2001, after schoolteachers and social workers noticed unusual sexual behavior in four children of the Delay-Badaoui family in Outreau, a town in the Pas-de-Calais region next to Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. Psychologists judged the children's accounts credible. More than fifty people were investigated, and seventeen adults — mostly parents — were prosecuted for child sexual abuse and incest. Their children were separated from them for much of the case, and the accused spent one to three years in pre-trial detention.

Two of the accused drew particular national attention. François Mourmand, accused of murdering a child, died after seventeen months in pre-trial detention, before his case was tried. Daniel Legrand, described as the youngest of the accused, told a judge and the broadcaster France 3 that he had witnessed the murder of a young girl; the child's body was never found.

The first trial opened in May 2004 before the Cour d'assises in Saint-Omer, with three professional judges and nine jurors. The case rested chiefly on Myriam Badaoui's testimony, statements from some of the children — heard behind closed doors, standard practice in France for minors in sexual-abuse cases — and psychiatric evidence. Twelve children were recognised at trial as victims of rape, sexual assault, corruption of minors, and pimping. Of the seventeen defendants, ten were convicted, including four who had confessed, and seven were acquitted.

Six of the ten convicted defendants denied the charges and appealed. At the Paris appeal trial, Badaoui testified on 18 November 2005 that the six "had not done anything" and that she had lied; her former husband, Thierry Delay, corroborated her statement, and two children who had implicated defendants said they, too, had lied. The prosecutor asked the court to acquit all remaining defendants, and on 1 December 2005 all six were acquitted, ending the trials. Paris's general prosecutor, Yves Bot, apologised to the defendants on the trial's final day, before the verdict was delivered.

Four convictions became final because those defendants had not appealed: Thierry Delay, sentenced to twenty years; Myriam Badaoui, sentenced to fifteen years and released in 2015; and a neighbouring couple. Delay, Badaoui, and one of the neighbours later acknowledged wrongly accusing other people, when only the four of them had taken part. President Jacques Chirac and other officials apologised to the acquitted, who were compensated for their detention. A parliamentary inquiry opened in January 2006, broadcast live on television, to examine the roles of expert witnesses, the investigating magistrate, and media coverage. In 2009, France's judicial oversight body reprimanded the investigating magistrate, Fabrice Burgaud — the lowest disciplinary sanction available; he again denied wrongdoing at a further hearing in 2015.

The case's legacy remains contested. In 2007, Le Point revealed a confidential government report finding signs suggestive of sexual abuse in five children whose parents had been acquitted; the report was never published or independently proven. Two of the acquitted, Franck and Sandrine Lavier, were convicted in 2012 of habitual non-sexual violence against two of their children, and in 2023 Franck Lavier was separately sentenced to six months in prison for sexually assaulting his daughter. Saint-Omer's prosecutor at the time, Éric Maurel, later told a judicial inquiry that child witnesses had been harassed by defense questioning. One of the Delay-Badaoui children, Jonathan Delay, publicly objected to a 2023 television dramatization of the case. Convictions for child sexual assault in France fell 40 percent in the decade following the 2005 acquittals.

Key facts

Victims
Twelve unnamed child victims, Jonathan Delay
Date
2001
Location
Outreau, Pas-de-Calais, France
Case status
overturned

Case timeline

  1. 1997

    The period of alleged child sexual abuse within the Delay-Badaoui family and associated adults in Outreau, France, begins, continuing until 2000.

  2. 2001-11

    The investigation into the Delay-Badaoui family opens, leading to provisional detentions of the accused.

  3. 2004-05

    The first trial opens before the Cour d'assises in Saint-Omer; by its conclusion that July, ten of the seventeen defendants are convicted (four after confessing) and seven are acquitted.

  4. 2005-11-18

    At the Paris appeal trial, chief prosecution witness Myriam Badaoui testifies that the six remaining convicted defendants "had not done anything" and that she had lied; her former husband Thierry Delay corroborates her statement.

  5. 2005-12-01

    All six remaining defendants are acquitted on appeal in Paris, ending the trials; Paris's general prosecutor apologises to the defendants before the verdict is delivered.

  6. 2006-01

    A French parliamentary inquiry into the causes of the case's judicial failures opens, broadcast live on television for the first time.

  7. 2007

    Le Point newspaper reveals the existence of a confidential government report finding signs suggestive of sexual abuse in five children whose parents had been acquitted; the report is never published or independently proven.

  8. 2009-04-24

    France's judicial oversight body reprimands investigating magistrate Fabrice Burgaud, the lowest disciplinary sanction available, for his role in the case.

  9. 2012-02-23

    A court in Boulogne-sur-Mer convicts Franck and Sandrine Lavier, two of the acquitted Outreau defendants, of habitual non-sexual violence against two of their children, giving suspended sentences of ten and eight months respectively.

  10. 2015

    Myriam Badaoui is released after serving her sentence.

  11. 2023-11

    Franck Lavier is sentenced to six months in prison for sexually assaulting his daughter.

Best coverage

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People

  • François Mourmand

    CHARGED

    One of the seventeen accused, alleged to have murdered a child; died after seventeen months in pre-trial detention before his case was tried. At the 2005 appeal, the defence held a minute of silence in his memory instead of pleading.

  • Twelve unnamed child victims

    VICTIM

    Recognised at the 2004 trial as victims of rape, sexual assault, corruption of minors, and pimping.

  • Éric Maurel

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Prosecutor of Saint-Omer at the time of the case; later told the General Inspectorate of Judicial Services that child witnesses had been harassed by questions from defense lawyers.

  • Yves Bot

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    General prosecutor of Paris; came to the appeal trial's final day and apologised to the defendants on behalf of the legal system before the verdict was delivered.

  • Franck Lavier

    ACQUITTED

    One of the Outreau defendants acquitted; in 2012 convicted (suspended sentence) of habitual non-sexual violence against two of his children, and in 2023 sentenced to six months in prison for sexually assaulting his daughter.

  • Fabrice Burgaud

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Investigating magistrate who led the case shortly after leaving the Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature; reprimanded by France's judicial oversight body in 2009 and again denied wrongdoing at a 2015 hearing.

  • Jonathan Delay

    VICTIM

    A child of the Delay-Badaoui family described as one of the case's victims; in 2023 publicly called for a boycott of a television dramatization of the case, which he said misrepresented events.

  • Daniel Legrand

    CHARGED

    Described as the youngest of the accused; during pre-trial detention said he had witnessed the murder of a young girl whose body was never found. His individual trial outcome is not stated in the source.

  • Thierry Delay

    CONVICTED

    Convicted at the first trial in 2004 of abusing children in the Delay-Badaoui family; did not appeal and was sentenced to twenty years in prison.

  • Unnamed neighbouring couple

    CONVICTED

    Two neighbours of the Delay family who, along with Thierry Delay and Myriam Badaoui, remained convicted after the appeal trial; not named in the source.

  • Alain Marecaux

    ACQUITTED

    One of the accused acquitted in the case; subject of the 2011 film Presumed Guilty (Présumé coupable); had also been accused of a sex offense by his own son.

  • Sandrine Lavier

    ACQUITTED

    One of the Outreau defendants acquitted; in 2012 convicted (suspended sentence) alongside Franck Lavier of habitual non-sexual violence against two of their children.

  • Myriam Badaoui

    CONVICTED

    Convicted at the first trial in 2004; did not appeal, was sentenced to fifteen years, and was released in 2015. At the 2005 appeal, she testified that the other, appealing defendants had not been involved and that she had lied about them.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Outreau, Pas-de-Calais, France

50.7044, 1.5947

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
In 2001, French authorities in Outreau, a town near Boulogne-sur-Mer, opened an investigation that led to the prosecution of seventeen adults for child sexual abuse. Four were ultimately convicted, but thirteen were acquitted after a widely criticized trial and appeal that prompted a parliamentary inquiry into failures in the French justice system.
Where did the crime happen?
Outreau, Pas-de-Calais, France.
Who was convicted?
Thierry Delay (Convicted at the first trial in 2004 of abusing children in the Delay-Badaoui family; did not appeal and was sentenced to twenty years in prison.), Unnamed neighbouring couple (Two neighbours of the Delay family who, along with Thierry Delay and Myriam Badaoui, remained convicted after the appeal trial; not named in the source.), and Myriam Badaoui (Convicted at the first trial in 2004; did not appeal, was sentenced to fifteen years, and was released in 2015. At the 2005 appeal, she testified that the other, appealing defendants had not been involved and that she had lied about them.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: overturned.
More cases in France

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICOutreau caseWikipedia · 2026-07-12
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — BBC NewsBBC News · 2026-07-12
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — lemonde.frlemonde.fr · 2026-07-12

Record history

First published
JUL 13, 2026