The entrance to a courtroom in the Assize Court of Ille-et-Vilaine, in Rennes. - C. Allain / 20 Minutes

  • A 63-year-old nanny will be tried before the Assize Court of Ille-et-Vilaine from Tuesday.
  • The parents of a little girl accuse her of "shaking their baby" in 2014 near Rennes. The child is severely disabled.
  • The nurse denies the facts. His lawyer disputes the diagnosis made by the doctors.

It was her first day with her nanny, but also her last. This April 2014 day, the mother of little Jeanne had recovered her daughter, then four months old, from the maternal assistant that she had just hired in Guipry-Messac, south of Rennes. The mother is then surprised to see the "abnormal" behavior of her daughter. "She had unusual weeping, a look away. She immediately called the doctor, ”says the lawyer for Jeanne Me Natacha Bernard's parents. The baby is quickly transferred to the hospital where he undergoes multiple examinations. The doctors' diagnosis is clear: Jeanne presents all the symptoms of the “shaken baby”.

Almost six years later, her parents cross paths with the nanny, whom the doctors point out as a potential culprit. The trial will open Tuesday in Rennes before the Assize Court of Ille-et-Vilaine. "The baby was fine. She was in perfect health when her father dropped her off in the morning, continues the lawyer. We are convinced of the nanny's guilt ”. Since April, Jeanne has been severely handicapped and has been significantly delayed in development. At the age of six, "she has the motor development of a two-year-old child", describes the family lawyer.

"My client is innocent", defends the nurse's lawyer

Aged 63, the nurse claims her innocence from the start and assures her: no, she did not shake the baby. "My client is innocent, she has not committed any action," says her lawyer, Marc-Etienne Verdier. To prove it, the council evokes "a call to the doctor in the afternoon". But the practitioner did not respond. "She felt like the little girl was crying a lot, she thought she was weird." Since the facts, the nurse's approval has been withdrawn. "She is devastated, she lives under tranquilizer. She felt guilty for a long time when she did nothing ”.

Rennes: Accused of shaking her baby, a mother claims her innocence https://t.co/8Klk21Sgbq via @ 20minutesRennes pic.twitter.com/9IBl4yBGul

- 20 Minutes Rennes (@ 20minutesrennes) March 4, 2019

Without physical evidence, the assize court will have to rely on the expertise of doctors to try to establish the guilt or not of the nurse. In Jeanne's case, the diagnosis made is final. The girl has the "usual" symptoms of the shaken baby: subdural hematomas (blood in the brain), hemorrhagic lesion of the cervical cord or even damage to the nuchal ligament. “Four of the five experts agree on the diagnosis. Only one does not confirm the date of the events, ”says the parents' lawyer.

“This shaken baby syndrome is widely contested today”

Defense counsel take another look at this diagnosis. “This shaken baby syndrome is widely contested today. It is based only on the recommendations of the High Authority for Health which are questioned ”, argues Me Verdier. The lawyer cites in particular the work of Doctor Bernard Echenne, former neuropediatrician at the Montpellier University Hospital who is very critical of these recommendations.

Vanessa Keryhuel knows something about it. A few months ago, this mother was released by the Rennes criminal court when doctors accused her of shaking her baby. A struggle waged over the years that pushed her to found the Adikia association. “This is a subject that is talked about a lot in the courtrooms. The judges seem to be more informed about these controversies, ”said the young woman. In March, his release caused a lot of ink to flow. But not to the point of convincing some practitioners. “I went back to the Rennes University Hospital to explain myself. It did not go well. The radiologist refused to admit that she could have been wrong ”. His lawyer also brought the question to the Council of State but the answer is long overdue.

The young woman also explains that the solicitations of her association are "almost daily". Many parents contact her to try to find answers to their questions in the face of the “hell machine” of the justice system. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the juries of the assize court will see the experts parade. And will have to decide.

Justice

Rennes: CHU condemned for misconduct after the death of a baby

  • Justice
  • handicap
  • Health
  • Child
  • Rennes
  • Assize Court
  • Baby
  • Infant