The mother and father of little Smaël, an infant who died of hunger and beatings in 2018, were sentenced Thursday to 20 years imprisonment and seven years respectively, one for fatal violence and both for the to have deprived of care. The little boy was discovered by the emergency services in cardio-respiratory arrest in an apartment in Reims in October 2018, following a call from the parents.

The mother and father of little Smaël, an infant who died of hunger and beatings in 2018, were sentenced Thursday to 20 years imprisonment and seven years respectively, one for fatal violence and both for the to have deprived of care.

The Assize Court of Marne followed the requisitions of the Advocate General by sentencing Arlette N., a 25-year-old Ivorian without a residence permit, to 20 years' imprisonment for "habitual and willful violence resulting in death without intention. to give it ", and" deprivation of care or food "to the point of compromising health.

The sentence was accompanied by five years of socio-judicial monitoring.

"A personality with flaws"

The Court on the other hand pronounced a sentence of seven years, less than the requisitions (15 years), for the father Oumar B., 37 years old, found guilty of "deprivation of care or food", of "not denouncing ill-treatment. "and" no assistance to anyone in danger ", but acquitted of the acts of violence.

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"Arlette N. recognized that she hit (Smaël) when he didn't want to eat (...) When there are two of us it's more manageable. But Oumar B. prefers to be a kid who thinks only of himself" , had launched the lawyer general Sandrine Delorme during her indictment.

The little boy was discovered by the emergency services in cardio-respiratory arrest in an apartment in Reims in October 2018, following a call from the parents.

Noting the state of malnutrition and the multiple traces of violence, the emergency services had alerted the police.

Despite the resuscitation attempts, Smaël died a few hours later.

Arlette, mother of an older child, placed, "has cracked because she has a personality that presents flaws. She was beaten. This causes deficiencies. But not all deficient children commit the irreparable", supported Sandrine Delorme, rejecting any alteration of the judgment on the part of the accused.

As for Oumar, he "can't pretend he hasn't seen anything," she said.

I regret what happened

During the debates, both parents said they "regret" what happened.

The mother - depicted by psychiatric expertise as "a deficient personality with low intelligence and severe depression" - acknowledged "slaps", "throwing objects" and deprivation of care.

She assured to have followed the educational rules of the father, who denied her any participation in the martyrdom of the child, but "accepted" in front of the court that she "was reproached for not having taken enough care of it".

"I regret what happened", reiterated Arlette before the court withdrew, Oumar declaring that he had "nothing to add".

This verdict is "difficult for Madame. But the sentence is logical. The facts are still very serious", commented to AFP the lawyer of Arlette N., Lydie Laithier.

In her plea, she described a "battered" woman, herself a victim of abuse in Côte d'Ivoire, who "collapsed after the birth of her children".

The sentence pronounced against Oumar B. "is a very great satisfaction which corresponds to the version of my client", for his part declared the lawyer of the father, Simon Miravete.

Earlier, he had assured that Oumar "lived in a certain fear" of his companion, "under the influence".

"It is a difference of sentence difficult to understand given the family camera. However, legally, the father received the maximum sentence" reacted the lawyer of the association Innocence in danger, Me Nathalie Bucquet.