Paris (AFP)

"Acts of mistreatment" were committed against a resident of a home for young dependent adults in Seine-Saint-Denis, said Tuesday the health authorities, who believe that the safety of users is there "not guaranteed", and placed the establishment under provisional administration.

The Île-de-France Regional Health Authority said in a press release that it received a report at the beginning of July for violence at the specialized reception center (MAS) Virginie, located at Pavillons-sous-Bois. An inspection, conducted on site last Thursday, "confirmed the acts of abuse against a resident and highlighted significant staff shortages," added the ARS.

The establishment "had already been the subject of several reports since 2014", which had led the ARS to carry out several inspections, and to formulate "injunctions" concerning in particular the "security of the drug circuit" or the lack of staff.

"In view of all these elements, the Regional Health Agency believes that the safety of users of the MAS Virginia is not guaranteed and took the decision to place the institution under provisional administration", entrusted to the public health institution in Ville-Evrard, also in Seine-Saint-Denis.

"The alleged perpetrator (of violence) was laid off as a precaution immediately upon knowledge of the facts, and there is a dismissal procedure," said on his side, on franceinfo, the secretary of State responsible for disabled people, Sophie Cluzel, denouncing "overwhelming facts".

"It was no longer time to procrastinate, we take things in hand," said Cluzel, who spoke of "recruitment problems" and "shortcomings" in the management of the institution.

The decision of "change of direction" must now allow "to end without delay the serious dysfunctions noted, but also to continue the activity without leaving families unresolved in the middle of the summer," said the Secretary of 'State.

In this case, a judicial investigation for violence against vulnerable people was also opened after three complaints filed by families, told AFP the parquet Bobigny.

This investigation was opened in August 2018 after a first complaint filed by the family of a resident of the MAS of Pavillons-sous-Bois, whose hand had been fractured, according to a source close to the investigation.

Two others followed. The last one, which dates from last June, concerns a young man of 29 years who would have been hit with sticks, revealed Tuesday Le Parisien.

His mother went to court after receiving a video where we see the young man receiving blows from an employee of this associative structure, according to the newspaper.

Contacted by AFP, the Specialized Reception House, which has 20 places, including 15 in boarding schools, has so far not wished to express itself.

The judicial inquiry, opened over a year ago, "should be completed in the coming weeks," according to the source close to the survey. The investigations were entrusted to the police station of Bondy.

© 2019 AFP