Lyhanna case: Father of suspect probed for sexual abuse, brother charged with rape

New investigations target Joël Barella

On 10 June, the Béziers public prosecutor announced the reopening of a 2018 investigation in which Maëva, now 20, accuses her step-grandfather Joël Barella of sexual assault when she was 12. The case had been closed without further action in 2020 due to insufficient characterisation of the offence, but recent events prompted a fresh review. "In light of recent events in the news, the Béziers prosecutor wanted to reexamine the procedure and, upon review, decided to reopen the investigation in order to carry out certain additional checks," said prosecutor Arnaud Faugère.

A separate complaint by Maëva's older half-sister Prescyllia, who said she was abused between 2010 and 2013 from age 10, ended in a dismissal in 2021 after a judicial inquiry that saw Joël Barella placed under the status of assisted witness but never formally charged. In his 2014 custody hearing, he described the child as "provocative" and denied all allegations, a position his family largely supported. Bérengère Sinègre, Maëva's mother, told BFMTV that the family's finances played a role: "It was Joël who had the money, he was building houses for everyone in the family, that's why everyone preferred to defend him rather than defend little Prescyllia."

I hope this time they will be heard and believed so that people stop saying they are liars.

Brother Yannick also charged

The wave of accusations also hit Yannick Barella, 45, the suspect Jérôme's older brother. He was taken into custody on 9 June and subsequently charged with the rape of two former partners, one of whom was a minor older than 15 at the time of the alleged acts. The fresh charges come as investigators dig deeper into the background of a family now at the centre of a national scandal.

Calls for public sex-offender register

The discovery that Jérôme Barella had been the subject of earlier complaints for sexual violence before Lyhanna's death has reignited a debate on child protection. Several French politicians, among them Éric Ciotti, leader of the Union des droites pour la République (UDR), have argued for opening the Fichier des Auteurs d'Infractions Sexuelles ou Violentes (Fijaisv) — the national judicial database of convicted sex offenders — to wider public scrutiny. Currently accessible only to authorised officials and for certain hiring checks, a public version (as exists in limited form in Poland, according to Ciotti) could, proponents say, help communities identify potential threats.

Online rumours and a homonym backlash

Amid the intense media coverage, social media users erroneously claimed that former local magistrate Dominique Barella and ex‑mayor Francis Barella of Sainte‑Radegonde (Gers) were relatives of the suspect, suggesting they had shielded him. Both men publicly denied any family link, stressing they are homonyms. Francis Barella told local radio ICI Occitanie: "My family and I have nothing to do with Jérôme Barella. It's just a namesake." His son confirmed that defamation complaints have been filed. Meanwhile, unrelated Gers mayor Alain Scudellaro found his photo mistakenly used in the smear campaign and announced his own legal steps.

Funeral and next steps

Lyhanna's funeral will be held on 12 June in Fleurance, the Gers town where the girl lived. Jérôme Barella remains in solitary confinement at Mont‑de‑Marsan prison and is expected to be questioned again by an investigating judge with a view to a formal murder charge. The reopened abuse inquiry against his father and the charges against his brother continue to unfold, while a nation asks whether earlier warnings were missed.