The anti-reconciliation bracelet has been active since January in the jurisdiction of the Thionville judicial court. The sentencing judge pronounced its implementation against three men, all convicted of domestic violence, in order to keep them at a distance from their ex-spouse.
The author is equipped with a case and the bracelet attached to his ankle. The victim is also provided with a case. “Both are thus permanently geolocated”, explains the deputy prosecutor, Adrien Fauchier-Delavigne, in charge of this dispute. If the individual approaches, a private platform sends a first alert. If he enters the forbidden zone, determined by the judge, the authorities intervene.
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Three stories
In the first case, it was the children who called the police to help their mother. Her husband hits her. They have been in a relationship for sixteen years. The victim describes physical, psychological and sexual violence. She wants a divorce, he doesn’t. He is arrested, placed under judicial supervision pending trial. But he does not respect the ban on approaching. He commits further violence a month later. The accused is this time tried quickly. He was sentenced in August 2020 to fifteen months in prison, including eight months with a probationary suspension, subject to a contact ban for three years. He was released from detention in April 2021. In view of the context, the anti-rapprochement bracelet was pronounced by the sentence enforcement judge to protect the victim and the children. It was first issued for six months and then extended for eighteen months due to the profile.
The second case also concerns a possessive husband. His pregnant wife filed a complaint in August 2017, she described slaps, kicks and belts, insults, threats. He denies. The deadlines are stretching. He was tried two years later, in October 2019, he received a six-month suspended prison sentence. He was prohibited from contacting her and appearing at her home for two years. Except that he does not respect the judgment. He continues to follow her, to spy on her. He has been fitted with the bracelet since last August.
The third file is just as chilling. The defendant was arrested at home in June 2019. He threatened his wife to kill her in front of their 2-year-old daughter. He also threatens to kidnap the girl and prostitute her to pay for her drugs. He even shows off a knife in the presence of the police. He was tried three months later. The criminal court sentences him to six months suspended prison sentence subject to a three-year probation during which he must stay away. Except that conviction will not be enough. The stay is partially revoked. The violent husband spent a short time in prison before being fitted with the anti-reconciliation bracelet.
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Adrien Fauchier-Delavigne, deputy prosecutor of Thionville, referent on cases related to domestic violence: “The prohibition of contact can have its limits on paper, when it is pronounced by the court. The BAR is a constraint with which the accused must live ”.
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And a lot of things in common
A project manager dedicated to domestic violence, stationed at the Thionville prosecutor’s office, went through these three cases and found many points in common. “These are married couples with children. The personality of the perpetrators is similar: they want to control everything, they do not accept the rupture, the violence is recurrent, the children are present at the time of the facts and they have no history for this type of offense ”, notes Élisa Laranjeira. His position as project manager, for the moment, aims to improve the follow-up of complaints, the assessment and the orientation of victims. The goal is to be more responsive to this issue.
Unlike the grave danger telephone given to victims, the anti-reconciliation bracelet is issued upon judicial conviction. It can be pronounced at the hearing, if all the information necessary for its strict application is known. And that’s where it can get stuck.
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