Unknown to the justice system, Danielle was suspected of having abused her 88-year-old companion.
At the helm of the Nîmes criminal court this Friday, October 6, Danielle, 78 years old, with zero records, recounts full of emotion the beginnings of her love story with Denis
, ten years older. A man today suffering from cognitive disorders whom the courts have decided to place under enhanced guardianship.
On the civil parties’ bench, the children of the 88-year-old old man are seething. While the president lists at the very beginning of the hearing the largesse from which the defendant benefited for several years, who appeared, that day, and for the very first time before a court, for “abuse of weakness against a vulnerable person” .
“My companion is in his right mind!”
“Purchases of vehicles, transfers to your account, financing of travel and work…”, points out the magistrate, suspiciously.
“I prefer hikes and nights in refuges. But Denis prefers cruises. That’s why I accompanied him to Egypt!”, the accused immediately retorts.
Sitting very close to her – far from his own son – Denis, motionless and silent, seems lost. “My partner is in his right mind. He cooks, has slight memory problems due to his age. Nothing more! The work he financed was used to improve his own comfort in my property where he chose to come live by my side (…) Once the children left and the houses were paid for, we simply decided to enjoy life as we wanted.”
Contact ban abandoned
In this case, Danielle faces 3 years in prison and a fine of 375,000 euros.
“The fact that the gentleman is under curatorship does not automatically mean that he is a vulnerable person in the criminal sense of the term. Moreover, several medical certificates placed in the file do not qualify him as such,” insists Me d’Alimonte , Danielle’s lawyer who was hoping for an acquittal.
In his requisitions, prosecutor Lubin requested a year in prison against the accused with a probationary suspension of two years, the payment of a fine of 30,000 euros and above all a ban on coming into contact with Denis.
At the end of the day, the court found Danielle guilty of abuse of weakness. The court sentenced her to a one-year suspended prison sentence. Considered by the prosecution, the ban on contact between Danielle and the man who is still her companion was ultimately not upheld by the court.the first name of Danielle’s companion has been changed.
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