Paris school monitor guilty of preschooler sexual assault

A Paris court found a leisure-centre monitor guilty on July 10 of sexually assaulting a kindergarten-age girl in his care, the first such verdict after multiple recent allegations involving non-teaching staff in the French capital.

The 25-year-old defendant denied wrongdoing. He was given an 18-month suspended jail sentence and banned from working with children.

Judges said the girl, now six, had made statements that were consistent, precise and compatible with her young age. They said she accused him of assaulting her at a Paris leisure centre between October 2023 and July 2025, after repeatedly refusing to return there.

The case comes amid wider concern over allegations involving aides at Paris schools and leisure centres. Earlier in the week, a court found a 36-year-old guilty of harassing female colleagues but acquitted him of sexually assaulting nine preschoolers. In June, a 47-year-old was acquitted of sexually assaulting three girls and sexually harassing nine others when they were aged 10.

Since the start of the year, Paris has suspended 132 aides, including 52 suspected of sexual abuse. Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire has said the figures reflect a systemic problem and has pledged to prevent further abuse.